Smriti Chaudhary
"My classmates were extremely diverse in terms of professional, academic, geographic background, and experience. You get to learn their culture, lifestyle, and workstyle. and their opinions/values help mold your own. The individuality and background of each classmate gives intellectual discussion a wide range of freedom in terms of creative exploration of business solutions to any problems posed."
MQM: Business Analytics
My Program Track
Industry:
Prior Education:
K. J. Somaiya College of Engineering
Information Technology
Why I Chose Fuqua
Fuqua’s culture is extremely unique. The Team Fuqua spirit was startling to me at first, because I had never believed something like that to exist since I had never experienced anything similar, but it is very, very real. When they say it is one big family and everyone is out here to help you, they mean it. You just need to look for the right resources and people and you’re well underway.
Also, the clubs and their events will keep you on your toes. You will always have an event for anything you fancy, from relaxing with painting, wine and cheese, to networking conferences, you have it all. To put it simply, just the overall inclusivity, and diversity, along with the coursework was what attracted me at first, but in the end it was the wonderful alumni interactions and tales of ‘the blue devil experience’ that finally pulled me in.
Before Fuqua
I did multiple internships as an analyst and project manager but wanted to improve my skills and expertise, which influenced my decision for the MQM degree here.
After Fuqua
I plan to work in roles that provide me with international business and strategy experience, especially in the creative industry. I would like to start off with a more tech-focused role and then pivot towards higher decision-making positions that deal with the business as a whole.
5 Things on Duke-Fuqua 101
- Fuqua Fridays. That’s it. That’s the tweet. (It’s the best thing here, trust me on this one. The vibe, the people, and of course, my favorite: free food!)
- Do the grad basketball campout. You may freeze like a popsicle in the tents at night and stink like a skunk by the end of it but the experience is worth it. You won’t regret it. And hey, you get a season ticket to the basketball games.
- A lot of incoming and prospective students have asked me this question: Yes, you can definitely take up RA and TA opportunities here but you may need to actively put in the effort to seek one.
- A very popular issue with our cohort, and a topic for the upcoming cohorts to ask about: the honor code. Yes, it is extremely serious, and yes, it has not-so-pleasant consequences. The coursework is designed in a very thoughtful way and you won’t feel THAT overwhelmed.
- Oh, and climb the Duke Chapel will you? The view is great up there (that is, if the 239 steps don’t kill you before you get up top).
My MQM Track
I wanted to dip my toes into business strategy for a long time and reconcile my technical undergrad to a more business setting, especially in the creative domain. With the strategy track, we do exactly that. Since we are geared more towards cases and frameworks in general, our coursework looks a lot like something you would learn to apply at a consulting role but it also involves a lot of analytics that prepares you for technical roles as well. It has a good mix of analytics, data science, and management/business courses that opens up a path that takes you wherever you want to go. Each course gives you a very comprehensive overview and practice for that particular course objective and skill set you wish to gain but, as always, you must also work on yourself personally to go above and beyond to apply what you learned in the corporate world. Personally, I don’t know about the others, but I’d say my track is the best of the best!