Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business students come to learn, explore, and build community. As they move forward in their careers, they take everything they've learned and use it to power innovation in industries and businesses across the globe.
In celebration of Fall 2024 Commencement, we sat down with a few students to learn about their experiences and the wisdom they've gained in the process.
Meet Marina Von Behren, who is graduating with a concentration in Finance.
Where are you from?
Dunwoody, Georgia
Where did you go to high school?
Dunwoody High School
Who most influenced your decision to pursue business in college?
Steve Fortenberry. During my junior and senior years of high school, I participated in my school's Finance Academy, taking business and marketing classes, and started my own small business to fund two out-of-state class trips: one to New York City and one to Disney in Orlando, Florida. Mr. Fortenberry, a teacher who ran the program, exposed us students early on to business concepts such as brand extensions, pricing strategies, IPOs, public speaking, etc. Not only did I enjoy the course content, but this is when I also discovered my love for the entrepreneurial realm. Through Mr. Fortenberry's Finance Academy, I learned what makes businesses successful and how to start my own company. I loved this experience and realized that pursuing a degree in this exciting and versatile field would support my endeavors to become a successful business leader. Looking back on this journey, I am very thankful as I could not have imagined pursuing another major anywhere else than at Georgia Tech.
Why did you choose Scheller College of Business?
During high school, I could see how well-situated the Scheller College of Business was in Midtown Atlanta. Surrounded by Fortune 500 companies and one of the best engineering schools in the U.S., I knew a business school in this position would be a unique opportunity. I knew that I wanted to be in a program that emphasized the use and importance of technology and encouraged entrepreneurial outlets among its students. Through further research and talking to current students, I saw how Scheller prized all of the above: by being "Tech Savvy, Business Smart," by fostering entrepreneurship through programs like Create-X, and by integrating business and technology through The Steven A. Denning Technology & Management (T&M) Program. Fortunately, my older sister had completed the T&M Program and raved about it. Considering all it offered, I believed that attending Georgia Tech's Scheller College of Business would provide me with an environment to flourish and help differentiate me in the job market.
What concentration did you pursue and why?
I decided to concentrate in Finance for several reasons. I felt that obtaining the hard skills of financial acumen would differentiate me in the workplace and enhance my decision-making from a personal finance perspective. I believed that my combination of an engineering minor and a concentration in finance would allow me to be a conduit between engineers and businesspeople, something unique within industry, and prepare me well for the entrepreneurial space later on. Working this past summer in private wealth management in San Francisco, I could call upon important financial concepts learned from my concentration while applying my background in engineering - important in serving clients in Silicon Valley. Overall, pairing business, finance, and engineering was my way of combining my passions into one degree.
What is your best piece of advice to an applicant hoping to get into Scheller College?
Make sure business is what you want. Scheller has so many unique opportunities for courses, experiential learning opportunities, concentrations, etc., that you can best take advantage of them all if this path is most interesting to you.
What is the biggest myth about Scheller College?
It is easy. If it is that easy, you are not pushing yourself as you should. You get out of it what you put in.
As a business student in the heart of Tech Square, how do you think Scheller College embodies the intersection of business and technology?
Beginning my first year, I was able to experience how well Scheller embodies the intersection of business and technology through the Information Systems & Digital Transformation (MGT 2110) course I took. It was a semester-long boot camp of identifying software to know for industry. Because of that course, I was well-equipped for an analytics co-op at Delta Air Lines the following semester, being able to implement technologies like Tableau and SQL to gain key business insights in Delta's hiring process.
Outside of how well my professors have implemented technologies into courses, one of the greatest benefits I've received from this intersection at Scheller is through the Denning Technology & Management (T&M) Program. Two classes, specifically the Analysis of Emerging Technologies and Cutting Edge Technologies, taught me how to analyze disruptive technologies like drone delivery and EV charging infrastructure to gene therapy technologies. Exposure to these innovations has equipped me to understand the needs of current players in the market and the barriers they will need to overcome to be successful.
What was your favorite course and what was the biggest insight you gained about business from it?
My favorite course was the Analysis of Emerging Technologies, taught by Eric Overby. Professor Overby consistently had us reading prevalent news articles on major technologies that were changing the world, such as artificial intelligence's impact on jobs or the fundamentals of machine learning. This course helped break down complex innovations so that those in a different could understand its potential impact on the consumer.
One of the greatest takeaways, however, was a framework we learned that mapped out potential scenarios of different variables affecting the environment of the emerging technology. Through developing the most likely and desirable scenarios, we were taught to identify the key stakeholders and, therefore, strategic actions to take to increase the most desirable outcome. Fortunately, during my T&M capstone project, my group utilized this framework to analyze a new technology and deliver actionable recommendations to our client company to increase the likelihood of success in a recent technological investment.
Who was your favorite professor and why?
Karthik Ramachandran. In the spring semester of my third year, I took his product development class where we were tasked with identifying a consumer need that would eventually lead to a product prototype. Not only did Professor Ramachandran create a space to build something we were passionate about and that the community needed, but he also taught me the importance of asking questions and gaining perspective from real-life conversations. I believe a large part of personal connection has been lost in this day and age; however, Professor Karthik's course reinstated the importance of how, even from a business perspective, real-time input from those within an industry (on the consumer and employer side) provide the best business insights.
What activities were you involved with on or off campus, and did your business education impact those activities in any way?
On campus, I was a part of several organizations including the Scheller Business Ambassadors, Campus Outreach, and the Alpha Delta Pi Zeta Omicron sorority. Outside of campus, I work as a barista at a local café.
My business education influenced several of those involvements. Several courses I took at Scheller helped me develop my public speaking skills. As a Scheller Business Ambassador, this came in handy when giving tours and presentations to prospective students. I have also learned how successful companies benefit from understanding the experience of their customer-facing employees and that there should not be a disconnect between those interacting with their product or customers and those who are higher up in a company. One dream of mine is to one day open my own coffee shop and work in the coffee industry so I decided to become a barista better to understand the ins and outs of the field and equip myself with the skills and experience essential to operating a successful café.
Where did you intern/co-op during school?
Starting the fall of my sophomore year, I interned at Delta Air Lines for two semesters through a co-op in their Operations Analytics & Performance unit. This past summer I interned at Goldman Sachs in their Private Wealth Management division as a financial analyst in San Francisco.
Where will you be working after graduation?
I will return to Goldman Sachs in San Francisco full-time starting June 2025.
did the Scheller College undergraduate career education program assist you with your job efforts? Did you end up working or interning for one of your top choice companies?
Yes, in my first year, I struggled to find an internship for that summer. Luckily, Michael Dutcher guided me toward several co-op opportunities with Delta Air Line. I interviewed for one of the positions, received the offer, and started in the fall of my third year. Delta was definitely one of my top choices. Having flown with the airline growing up, I admired and respected its brand identity of excellence, so I was thrilled to work for them. (Especially being able to take advantage of their flight benefits).
Additionally, athough not a part of Scheller's Undergraduate Program Office, Anne Lynch from the Denning T&M Program helped me craft an excellent resume to reflect my work experience and involvement, which I believe assisted me in securing my internship with Goldman Sachs. Goldman had been a company I had sought after since the beginning of college, so interning with them was a very surreal experience!
Did you participate in any hands-on/experiential learning opportunities? If yes, which projects/companies did you work with, and how did you help them?
As part of the Denning T&M Program, I worked as a student consultant on a capstone project for Southwire Spark, an energy and electrical needs company with an office in Tech Square. Within an interdisciplinary group of five students, we built a business case for Southwire's corporate venture capital team, analyzing the Power over Ethernet (PoE) industry and its potential disruption on their existing products. Through corporate site visits to Cisco in Atlanta and Sinclair Digital in Fort Worth, TX, prior case studies, and interviews with subject matter experts, we were able to investigate the technology's strengths and weaknesses and recommend strategic actions for Southwire Spark to take in light of our discoveries.
Who would you like to thank most for your success?
My mom. Since I was young, my mom always encouraged my sister and me to work hard, work smart, show our grit, and meet everyone we can. She had put herself through school and spent summers working at a factory for General Motors. Her self-made experience encouraged me to make the most of the available resources and skills and learn all I could from those around me.
She was always looking for ways to prepare me for the future. For example, my mom helped me create a LinkedIn profile in the 8th grade "to build my network" and would send me links to apply to job shadows with companies like EY in middle and high school. My mother opened my eyes to so many great opportunities starting at a young age that I was able to realize how strategic efforts early on would help me achieve some of my more far-fetched dreams, like studying abroad in high school, getting into Georgia Tech, and interning in my dream state of California with Goldman Sachs. My mom has been my rock throughout the years, and I would be amiss to not attribute much of my success to her support.
What is a fun fact about yourself?
The summer after my first year, I moved to Hawaii with some friends and became a server at a taco food truck.
What are some of your hobbies?
Some of my consistent hobbies that I've pursued throughout college have been visiting coffee shops around Atlanta, playing pick-up beach volleyball on one of Georgia Tech's many courts, running outside (especially when the air is crisp), and making homemade popcorn on the stove. I also love traveling to Spanish-speaking countries, but I don't get to do this as often as I'd like.
What are the top two items on your bucket list?
I really want to live abroad for at least a year or two post-grad. Some countries that I am looking at are Australia, the U.K., Spain, and Argentina. I would also love to explore Southeast Asia. One of my best friends is from South Korea, and I have two friends living in Thailand right now. I am hoping to visit them this spring.