The Notre Dame MBA helped put Lauren Suga on the path to her dream job

Lauren Suga (MBA ‘27) was stuck in a bit of a rut. After several years spent working as an executive compensation consultant in New York City, she felt burned out and in need of a career reset. Suga was advising C-suite executives at Fortune 100 companies on eye-popping compensation packages that sometimes ran into the tens of millions of dollars per year. She wanted to pivot to an entirely different type of role in corporate finance or internal strategy at a large tech firm. 

“I really liked that my job was at the intersection of finance, legal and HR. But being part of so many conversations where people were just looking to find loopholes to maximize personal gain became super draining,” said Suga. “Once you’re in [compensation], it’s hard to get out. Anyone who doesn’t work in compensation pigeonholes it as HR work. And it does sit under the HR function, but it can only function together with finance.” Suga applied for positions in management consulting, internal strategy and finance, but realized that without an MBA, she wasn’t getting the opportunity to take the next step in her career. She chose to pursue an MBA at the University of Notre Dame, a decision that quickly put her on the path to her dream job: working at Google. After just a few months in South Bend, Suga lined up a first-year summer internship to work in corporate finance at the Silicon Valley tech giant in California. Suga credits the Mendoza College of Business’ support services and alumni network with helping put her on the right track. “When I came to Mendoza, I began to feel like my dream job was attainable,” said Suga, who matched with Patrick McNamara of the MBA’s Corporate Advisory Board program, in which advisors develop relationships with corporate partners to help graduate business students find jobs, network and maintain work-life balance. McNamara, a director at YouTube, helped Suga understand the company and its hiring processes. “I attended a small group session intended to help us get to know our advisors, and Patrick shot me a message to say he was really impressed and that we should connect,” she added. “We met to talk about my questions and concerns, and about the directions I could take in my career. He gave me such good intel, and when I got an interview at Google, he was responsive and advised me about how to prepare. The support system here has been incredible. Notre Dame has the best alumni network in the world. Everyone you meet wants to support you.”  

Partnering with Career Coaches to navigate hiring landscape

At Mendoza, the Graduate Student Business Development team provides career coaching services to students to prepare their professional future. Suga started working with the office before she even arrived on campus. Each career coach has a different industry. Nickolas Kubik focuses on technology and general management. Michael Newberry handles consulting and strategy. William Schenher is responsible for investment banking and financial services. Suga was in an unusual position because she wanted to work in tech, but was interviewing for positions centered on strategy and finance. “I was in the middle of the career coaching triangle,” she said. “ What I loved the most about this career team was that I could walk into the career office and ping pong between all of their offices, and everyone was willing to help. I have had multiple one-on-one conversations with every coach.” “I wasn't even an active student yet, but Nick genuinely wanted to help and he gave me advice,” said Suga. “I used his tips to prepare myself. When career opportunities came my way, I was ready for them, because he was so willing to help. I don't think I would have had the success I've had in this program without the Graduate Student Business Career Development team, and it's not just one of the coaches that helped me, it’s all of them.”  

Conquering the Quant

As an undergraduate at the University of Michigan, Suga envisioned herself working at the United Nations. She majored in international political economy and development and participated in extracurricular activities that focused on cross-cultural communication and exchange. It wasn’t the perfect set-up for graduate level courses in financial modeling. When Suga came to Notre Dame, she was intimidated by the thought of managing complex financial models. Her fears were allayed in the classroom of Robert Battalio, a professor of finance who transformed the subject matter from an abstract set of numbers into a logical framework for decision-making. "He didn't only teach us how to calculate the numbers; he taught us the 'why' behind them,” Suga said. “Robert Battalio made me realize that finance isn't just about math, it is about understanding the logic of business. “What I learned in Professor Battalio’s class was what was actually in my interviews,” said Suga. “And the pep talk he gave me before the interview gave me the confidence boost that I needed. He told me he believed in me, and it made me believe in myself.” A belief that will carry her to her next stop: the dream job at Google.