What I'm Looking Forward to About MMM
Five new students share what appealed to them about the program and how they think it will help them accomplish their professional goals.
MMM is a dual-degree program between Northwestern Engineering and the Kellogg School of Management that provides foundational elements of human-centered design thinking and business fundamentals. The interdisciplinary nature of MMM uniquely positions its graduates for key roles across industries, where they can drive impact through innovation of services, products, and experiences.
Five first-year MMM students took time to reflect on the uniqueness of MMM, share what they want to do professionally after graduating, and explain how they think MMM will help them accomplish their professional goals.
Farah Imtiaz
Previously was a business strategist at IA Collaborative 
What was it about MMM that initially appealed to you?
As I was researching business schools, MMM stood out as the most immersive program focused on combining business and design thinking to drive innovation. What I loved about MMM is that it’s not just focused on upfront solution design. The curriculum includes technical, operational, and communications courses that will help us bring technology, business, and design together to turn our ideas into reality.
What is it that you hope to do professionally after graduating?
I want to put my design and technical expertise to work in a strategy or business operations role for a growth-stage healthtech startup. In particular, I’m interested in solutions that expand healthcare access for rural communities.
How do you think MMM will help you do that?
MMM, with its focus on both empathy and analytics, will help me understand how to better integrate high-touch patient care with the increasingly high-tech business of medicine. Although I’ll never be a physician or a bioengineer, with the tools from MMM, I can help these diverse teams speak the same language—the language of human need. This will help us work together to frame problems and design products and experiences that improve the patient experience.
Simone West
Previously a management consultant at PwC 
What was it about MMM that initially appealed to you?
I wanted a program that went beyond traditional business management courses to help become a more human-centered, strategic thinker who could develop innovative ideas that catered to customer needs and then take those ideas from concept to market. With a curriculum focused on the intersection of business acumen, design process, and technology, MMM felt like the perfect match for me.
What do you hope to do professionally after graduating?
I’d like to work in a corporate innovation role within the media and entertainment industry. I want to solve business challenges ranging from developing new growth and content strategies to designing new business models and delivery methods to shape the future of how we inform, connect, entertain, and inspire audiences.
Bei Dai
Previously a senior manager in corporate strategy at Capital One 
What was it about MMM that initially appealed to you?
After spending almost six years in strategy roles, I saw tremendous value in strengthening my human-centered design toolkit and better understanding how to deploy those tools in a business environment. The MMM program immediately stood out as the best way to learn these skills through hands-on experiences — like Research Design Build and Business Innovation Lab — while also providing opportunities to build broader business leadership skills.
What do you hope to do professionally after graduating?
I hope to launch my career in product management and develop impactful digital products that meaningfully improve the quality of people’s lives.
How do you think MMM will help you do that?
Because I will be transitioning to product management for the first time, it’s crucial I gain practical experience that demonstrates my ability to be an effective PM to employers. Research Design Build offers an early opportunity to gain that highly relevant experience since our projects require building user empathy, iterating on solutions with a team, and developing compelling stories to effectively communicate those solutions. I have also already benefited from my fellow MMM classmates who have previous PM experience.
Max Jorgensen
Previously a strategy consultant at DeciBio Consulting 
What was it about MMM that initially appealed to you?
Curiosity and maintaining a learning mindset are both very important to me, but I find creativity is the core value which sets the MMM apart from others. At MMM, innovation and ideation are core aspects of the program, and in the growth equity segment of private equity, firms are heavily involved in helping the management teams of portfolio companies grow their businesses.
What do you hope to do professionally after graduating?
I plan on pivoting into a role at a growth equity firm, sitting between traditional venture capital and private equity roles.
Vanessa Debra
Previously a senior strategy analyst at Target 
What was it about MMM that initially appealed to you?
I was excited to be in a program that would help me become a subject matter expert and dive deep into design thinking, which I had seen aspects of earlier in my career but had never formally studied.
What do you hope to do professionally after graduating?
I hope to be working in innovation strategy and solving exciting consumer problems.
How do you think MMM will help you do that?
The MMM program has already helped me be more empathetic and consider a diverse range of perspectives. I'm excited to learn more about using design thinking to solve real partner challenges in Research Design Build and Business Innovation Lab.