Name: Constance Toulemonde
Year: 2022
Hometown: Nice, FRANCE
Career Interests: Brand Marketing, CPG.
Summer Internship: Mattel, Marketing
After starting her career with stints in recruiting and strategic storytelling, Constance Toulemonde (Merage, ‘22) decided to pursue an MBA to make a pivot into Brand Marketing, and enrolled in the UC-Irvine Merage School of Business. During our interview, Constance spoke about her journey to pursuing an MBA at Merage, her MBA admissions process, and her advice to prospective MBA students.
MBASchooled: What did you do before business school, and why did you choose to apply?
I am originally from France and came to the US as a student-athlete on a scholarship. I studied Marketing and Management at Oregon State University and always knew that I would pursue an MBA afterwards. The only question was: “when?”.
After a successful summer internship at Nike, I started a full-time job as a sports marketing recruiter at World Headquarters. I then transitioned into brand design for the basketball category before having to go back to my home country. I worked a couple years as a marketing and strategic storytelling consultant in a small boutique consulting firm before making the decision to go back to school. I have always had brand marketing in my line of sight and I knew that it was time for me to make it happen.
MBASchooled: When did you find out when you got admitted? How did you navigate your decision process if you were evaluating multiple schools?
I applied to about 12 schools to give myself as many chances as possible. In January, I started hearing from my first schools. Ultimately, I got admitted to 6 programs including UCI. Some schools had early acceptance deadlines to which I had to say no early on. I had to be very strategic and ensure that I wasn’t saying goodbye to what could have been the most fitting program.
Some schools were big name programs that I didn’t necessarily expect to get in. I discussed all options with my family, conducted in-depth research and carefully considered the pros & cons. The pandemic hit in March as I was still hesitating between 2 schools. Finally, I decided to follow my guts and considered what seemed to be the all-around best fit from a career, financial, geographic perspective.
MBASchooled: What were the most important questions you asked in order to help make your admissions decision?
-Will this program have my best interest at heart?
-Will this program allow me to reach my full potential?
-Does this program’s alumni network is strong and makes sense for my career interests?
-What relationships with key companies does this program nurture?
-Does this program geographically makes sense for where I want my career and life to go?
MBASchooled: What sources of information (ex: people, resources, websites, students) did you evaluate when making your admissions decision?
Early on in the process I had the chance to interact with some of the amazing Merage Student Ambassadors and pick their brain about their experience. This gave me an idea of how close and friendly the Merage community was. I already felt like I belonged. During my interview, I also felt like I was having an enjoyable conversation with the admission committee rather than a stressful interrogation. I off course conducted additional research and looked at rankings for benchmark but I ultimately listened to my gut and what felt right. UCI, here I come!
MBASchooled: After spending a semester at UC-Irvine, what’s something that you now know about UC-Irvine that you wish you knew when you applied ?
I knew the classes were small, and that contributed to my decision in joining a program where I wouldn’t feel like a number. I wasn’t fully aware that the program also accounted for MD/MBA students. I love the perspective they bring in discussions! I also didn’t realize how female our program was. This year 50% of the class is made of women! This is the future of business!
MBASchooled: Who did you talk to that was most helpful in learning information to help you make a decision? What questions did you ask?
As mentioned earlier, ambassadors were a wonderful resource. Because the class is so connected, any question one may not have been to answer, they would direct us to one of their classmates. Before starting the program I already met 5-6 second year students. To me, it was crucial to learn about all the leadership and extracurricular opportunities to make the most of my MBA experience and hit the ground running.
Because I had a clear understanding early on, I have been able to plan and ensure I can do as much as possible. I am now a student ambassador myself, a TA and president and board member of several student associations.
As an international student, it was also helpful to hear about housing and life in Orange County.
MBASchooled: Oftentimes, the word “culture” gets thrown around when talking about MBA programs. Can you characterize the culture at UC-Irvine? Can you share an example of an experience that you think personifies what this means?
At UC Irvine, and most specifically the Merage School of Business, we are a tight-knit community. We are genuinely interested about each other’s experiences and we help each other succeed. During recruiting season, a few of my classmates were lined up for the same interview at a major CPG firm.
Instead of preparing by ourselves, we teamed up, shared our resources, and held preparation sessions. We knew that not all of us would get the job and that we were somehow competing against each other, yet, we decided that together we could prepare better, and that would give us a chance to make it.
MBASchooled: Now that you’ve been at UC-Irvine for a semester, is there a specific moment or highlight where you felt confident that you made the right decision?
I am not going to lie, it has been a bit tough being mostly virtual this year. But I have made sure nevertheless to make the most of my MBA experience and seize every opportunity I can. Sometimes, I take the time to pause and reflect on all the things that my friends, classmates and I have achieved despite the virtual hurdles, and I am proud!
We have worked hard, have been landing amazing summer internships at big name brands and companies and have been leaders in our community to make the most of our MBA experience.
In these moments, I know that I made the right decision, because these hard-working people will be my friends for life, and that we are going through one crazy life experience together.
MBASchooled: What advice do you have for admitted students on how they can make the best decision?
Trust your gut, follow your intuition and what feels right. School will try to lure you in by many means. People will tell you where to go. Ultimately, it is your career and your MBA program, so choose the one that will feel like home.
MBASchooled: What advice do you have for admitted students on how they can prepare for their MBA experience?
Start early! Your MBA will go by crazy fast and you won’t have much time to pause and reflect. Start building your network, fine-tune your resume, sharpen your skills. Recruiting begins in September for certain industries, so you want to make sure you are ahead of the curve and you know what you want to achieve.