Brittany Ryan Curry, Class of 2012
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Where did you grow up? Peachtree City, Georgia
What year did you graduate from KFBS? 2012
Position prior to Kenan-Flagler: Sports Marketing, Group CSE
Current job (position, company, role): Associate Brand Manager, Johnson & Johnson, AVEENO® Facial Care
What was your most memorable moment at Kenan-Flagler: Creating a concerted effort behind mentorship at the Global Scholars Academy through my leadership roles in the Community Service Club and AMBS was not only my most memorable but most rewarding moment while I attended KFBS. The opportunity to connect with the children of Global Scholars Academy in a way that was meaningful and being able to contribute with my classmates to the work of the incredible academy faculty and staff gave me a chance to experience something greater than the individual value I could bring by myself. My classmates were encouraged by the eager, curious and self-motivated students and in turn were able to expose them to broad perspectives in an array of personalized ways. I continue to be inspired by the work of KFBS to support the Academy and the commitment to going beyond financial investment and dedicating quality time to really enrich the already phenomenal curriculum both academic and social. The core values of KFBS, particularly the responsibility to have an impact in the communities where we live and work, executed through this mentorship initiative, were a complement to my personal due North and passion for the community’s youth.
Who was your favorite professor and why? Which course did he/she teach? Dr. James Johnson is my favorite professor because he is so passionate not only about the necessity of diverse experiences but the need to share those experiences, so that we can benefit from the dialogue and motivate meaningful action that affects change. I also believe in encouraging deep connections between people and the value that those connections can bring to the individuals personal and professional lives. Dr. Johnson’s course, Managing Workplace Diversity, forced the class into an uncomfortable space where we were stretched to share shaping experiences, but a space that was conducive for a truer understanding of how different individuals are motivated and what informs their behavior. Furthermore, in thinking about how we naturally interact, a course like this, is one that’s lessons created a fundamental shift from considering just my perspective and knowledge base to include others’ vantage point in my approach – particularly as a leader in the marketplace.
What is the one thing that you miss about being a student at UNC Kenan-Flagler? Besides naps and the Beer Olympics, I think that the thing I miss most about being a student is the acceptability of not knowing what you want to be when you grow up. Being in business school, I had the flexibility to explore the business universe and develop inside of the Core Values without judgment. As I entered the workplace, I felt pressure to make the right decisions and get moving on the path to “success.” What I am realizing more and more is, while I need to have a general sense of where I am going, “broadening experiences” are not a bad thing. I am trying to allow myself to hang on to the innocence of being a young professional, continuing to absorb things about myself and the world, and giving myself room to create a series of experiences that will enable me to make a huge impact – when I decide what I want that to be.
What has been your biggest professional accomplishment since obtaining your MBA: I am really proud of the impact I have been able to make outside of my normal job responsibilities, leading mentorship programs for Summer Associates and owning several of the diversity recruiting initiatives. I worked hard to ensure that the recent internship class had access to all of the people resources they needed to be successful. It was important to me that I connected each associate with a mentor who could offer advice not only about navigating our company but provide general functional expertise and help the associates use the summer to also uncover more about themselves and what was conducive to their personal success. The same rings true as it relates to my role as the co-lead for some of our major diversity conferences. I am committed to bridging meaningful relationships with potential candidates because building a true network of personal and professional relationships is critical to development during your 2-year MBA journey. These outside opportunities have also given me the opportunity to gain cross-functional and sector visibility, be a leader among peers, influence management, and contribute to programs and agendas that I am passionate about.
What advice would you give to current Kenan-Flagler students: Take the time to get to know yourself. Try new things, go new places, meet new people and figure out what really makes you happy, inspires you, motivates you – and then do those things as much as possible. Two reasons – you will learn some amazing lessons about who you are and you rarely have the time later on to really enjoy all of those things to the degree that you do in graduate school. We often operate under an assumed identity being who people tell us we are – this is the time to really define who you want to be and get so comfortable with that person that it makes it very difficult to be anyone but your authentic self.
What year did you graduate from KFBS? 2012
Position prior to Kenan-Flagler: Sports Marketing, Group CSE
Current job (position, company, role): Associate Brand Manager, Johnson & Johnson, AVEENO® Facial Care
What was your most memorable moment at Kenan-Flagler: Creating a concerted effort behind mentorship at the Global Scholars Academy through my leadership roles in the Community Service Club and AMBS was not only my most memorable but most rewarding moment while I attended KFBS. The opportunity to connect with the children of Global Scholars Academy in a way that was meaningful and being able to contribute with my classmates to the work of the incredible academy faculty and staff gave me a chance to experience something greater than the individual value I could bring by myself. My classmates were encouraged by the eager, curious and self-motivated students and in turn were able to expose them to broad perspectives in an array of personalized ways. I continue to be inspired by the work of KFBS to support the Academy and the commitment to going beyond financial investment and dedicating quality time to really enrich the already phenomenal curriculum both academic and social. The core values of KFBS, particularly the responsibility to have an impact in the communities where we live and work, executed through this mentorship initiative, were a complement to my personal due North and passion for the community’s youth.
Who was your favorite professor and why? Which course did he/she teach? Dr. James Johnson is my favorite professor because he is so passionate not only about the necessity of diverse experiences but the need to share those experiences, so that we can benefit from the dialogue and motivate meaningful action that affects change. I also believe in encouraging deep connections between people and the value that those connections can bring to the individuals personal and professional lives. Dr. Johnson’s course, Managing Workplace Diversity, forced the class into an uncomfortable space where we were stretched to share shaping experiences, but a space that was conducive for a truer understanding of how different individuals are motivated and what informs their behavior. Furthermore, in thinking about how we naturally interact, a course like this, is one that’s lessons created a fundamental shift from considering just my perspective and knowledge base to include others’ vantage point in my approach – particularly as a leader in the marketplace.
What is the one thing that you miss about being a student at UNC Kenan-Flagler? Besides naps and the Beer Olympics, I think that the thing I miss most about being a student is the acceptability of not knowing what you want to be when you grow up. Being in business school, I had the flexibility to explore the business universe and develop inside of the Core Values without judgment. As I entered the workplace, I felt pressure to make the right decisions and get moving on the path to “success.” What I am realizing more and more is, while I need to have a general sense of where I am going, “broadening experiences” are not a bad thing. I am trying to allow myself to hang on to the innocence of being a young professional, continuing to absorb things about myself and the world, and giving myself room to create a series of experiences that will enable me to make a huge impact – when I decide what I want that to be.
What has been your biggest professional accomplishment since obtaining your MBA: I am really proud of the impact I have been able to make outside of my normal job responsibilities, leading mentorship programs for Summer Associates and owning several of the diversity recruiting initiatives. I worked hard to ensure that the recent internship class had access to all of the people resources they needed to be successful. It was important to me that I connected each associate with a mentor who could offer advice not only about navigating our company but provide general functional expertise and help the associates use the summer to also uncover more about themselves and what was conducive to their personal success. The same rings true as it relates to my role as the co-lead for some of our major diversity conferences. I am committed to bridging meaningful relationships with potential candidates because building a true network of personal and professional relationships is critical to development during your 2-year MBA journey. These outside opportunities have also given me the opportunity to gain cross-functional and sector visibility, be a leader among peers, influence management, and contribute to programs and agendas that I am passionate about.
What advice would you give to current Kenan-Flagler students: Take the time to get to know yourself. Try new things, go new places, meet new people and figure out what really makes you happy, inspires you, motivates you – and then do those things as much as possible. Two reasons – you will learn some amazing lessons about who you are and you rarely have the time later on to really enjoy all of those things to the degree that you do in graduate school. We often operate under an assumed identity being who people tell us we are – this is the time to really define who you want to be and get so comfortable with that person that it makes it very difficult to be anyone but your authentic self.