What and where did you study before your Mountbatten internship?
I studied at Seton Hall University in New Jersey and I majored in Finance with a double minor in Economics and Fine Arts.

What made you apply for the Mountbatten program?
It was of utmost importance that I gain a graduate degree immediately after college, so I was looking into so many programs but Mountbatten peaked my interest due to the opportunity to travel in addition to gaining professional work experience. Prior to that I had only been outside the US once!

Describe your sponsor company and your role within it.
I worked at Ashurst, which is an international law firm, and I was there as a Financial Analyst. I would work on creating, updating, and optimizing global financial reports and be responsible for sending those out to all relevant stakeholders around the globe.

What was the highlight/most memorable moment of your working experience during this year?
In my final review, the positive feedback was so overwhelming. I truly felt the team saw how dedicated I was to learn and perform, and I couldn’t have been more grateful.

What was the social highlight/most memorable moment during this year?
I really can’t say I can pinpoint one moment because the whole experience was spectacular, but I would say every night that my four flatmates and I just decided to spend time together and get to know each other was special. The holidays were so heartful because it’s when I truly felt like we became a family.

Please share a little wisdom/philosophy that you acquired during your internship
Always shoot out of your comfort zone. For me, moving to a new country was something I was terrified (also excited!) to do. I had never lived away from my parents— not even for college—so just having the courage to say go was a lot.

Would you have done anything differently, if you had your time over again?
Can I say travel more? Hahaha. I probably would say I would have done more forward planning on what life after Mountbatten would look like.

What happened after completing the year – what did you do next?
After completing the program, I was definitely determined to land a role in the consumer goods industry so I took on an internship at a fashion tech start-up and then I moved on to land my first full-time role at Macy’s.

Where are you now in your working life and what do you do?
Currently, I am the Director of Creative Operations at MAC cosmetics.  My responsibilities include project management, process optimization, and on-time delivery of all assets created for our global campaigns. This includes leading all facets of the campaign such as initial design, production, copywriting, digital development (emails and site assets), and social development like Instagram and TikTok posts.

Do you have any future plans that you would like to realise & what are they (career & social)?
I truly love being in creative operations—it’s a chance for me to use both my left and right brain and combine two things I love, being creative and organized. I would love to be able to head a department of creative operations, revolutionize how project management can build a stronger bridge in creative, possibly end up in Forbes. Sky’s the limit!

What would people be surprised to learn about you?
That I am a huge cook! I honestly thrive on coming up with new recipes and trying anything I see at a restaurant or on social. And before anyone asks, my specialty is Chicken Liver Bolognese.

Is there any other information that you would like to be included?
That’s all, folks!