We’re continuing our series introducing the Class of ’16 CASE Social Sector Scholarship recipients. We have already introduced Sarah Martin and now are proud to welcome Katie Campbell, profiled below!
Katie Campbell comes to Fuqua from the non-profit sector. She worked as a Managing Director of Talent Acquisition Operations at Teach For America, an organization that recruits and trains teachers to work in low-income communities and fosters the leadership of alumni to address the issue of educational inequity. She has also volunteered as a college chapter advisor with Alpha Kappa Psi professional business fraternity and worked with teenage girls via the Girl Scouts.
Prior to Teach For America, Katie worked in public relations and marketing in Nashville, Tenn., where she had the privilege of supporting clients like the US Department of Labor’s Job Corps, ExxonMobil Foundation and Nashville Chamber Orchestra.
To introduce Katie to the CASE community, we asked her a few questions about her background and why she chose Fuqua. Welcome, Katie!
Why Fuqua?
While managing my organization’s summer internship program, I met Julia Houlihan (Fuqua ’14), an Education Pioneers Fellow, who gave me insight into Fuqua’s focus on enhancing students’ abilities to be “Leaders of Consequence” in their communities and careers. The idea that I could attend a business school that combined my passion for serving others with strong ethics and leadership seemed like a win-win. When I visited the campus, the students were excited to talk about their experiences traveling to developing countries as consultants, and volunteering in the Durham community as board members for local organizations. I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself, and I knew I could do that at Fuqua.
What or who inspires you?
My parents inspire me to see challenges as opportunities to learn and grow. My mother worked through college to become an elementary school teacher and always found time to serve in community organizations. My father was a foster child who graduated college via a Navy scholarship, and later became a high school ROTC instructor often serving as a mentor and father-figure for his military cadets. Growing up as the daughter of educators has certainly made me appreciate my own educational experiences.
What impact do you hope your Fuqua education will allow you to have on the world?
My previous work experience in Human Resources showed me that I was strong in operations and strategy and loved working in teams. At Fuqua, I hope to build upon these strengths by understanding the theories behind them, as well as build out my quantitative and analysis skills. Team Fuqua is the perfect setting to develop my leadership and learn more about how to utilize team members’ strengths to create a strong final product. I plan to utilize my Fuqua experience to build up my business acumen so that when I pursue work in the social sector, I can use my quantitative skills and leadership to drive strong decision-making.
Share one of the 25 facts from your application essay.
Music, musicals and theater are passions of mine. At my wedding, my husband and I hired a men’s glee club to sit amongst our friends and family and launch into a surprise version of “Say a Little Prayer for You” during the ceremony!