Mary Katherine Flanigan

MBA 2014
  • Hometown: Leawood, Kansas
  • Pre-MBA: Product Specialist at McKinsey AHA

Mary Katherine Flanigan

Post Graduation Goals:

To work in Healthcare IT, either by joining a start-up or by starting my own company.

Favorite GSB Memory So Far:

Both of the Section Olympics events were amazing. I don't know what was more fun: winning the soccer championship game or building a human pyramid at the section beer olympics two weeks later!

Monday
09:00am
Met up with a friend in my strategic communication class to practice our presentations for the afternoon. She spoke on “How to get what you want from a customer service rep” and I gave an angel investor pitch presentation for my start-up. She gave me some really helpful feedback!
12:00pm
Lunch with a friend on one of the terraces overlooking the Knight Management Center.
01:00pm
Strategic Communication and Microeconomics class, the best part of giving my presentation was all the helpful feedback from my classmates that they handed me after my speech.
05:30pm
Cooking and hosting a dinner for my Women in Management (WIM) group at my house. WIM groups (made up of 6 MBA women plus a facilitator) meet every other week to talk, catch up, and support each other on whatever we might be dealing with that week.
08:00pm
Furiously cleaning up so I can make it to campus by 9.
09:00pm
TALK!!! TALK is an opportunity for a member of our class to get up in front of a packed room and share their personal story. Some TALKS are funny, some are tragic, and all are heartfelt. No matter who is speaking that night, I always walk away feeling like I know them better and grateful to be part of such an inspiring community.
10:30pm
Back in Schwab having a cup of tea with several friends post TALK. Great way to unwind after a busy day.
Thursday
07:00am
Breakfast meeting with a friend working at a healthcare analytics company in Menlo Park.
08:30am
Personal leadership coaching with my Arbuckle Leadership Fellow. We meet weekly and she helps me think through anything on my mind from the internship search to my personal life.
09:30am
Homework time in Bass library and saying hi to some friends.
12:00pm
Stop by the Challenge for Charity Table in Town Square to see where we are in terms of sign- ups; we sold 450+ tickets in the first 12 hours! I’m on the committee that is hosting a huge sports competition weekend for MBA’s across California in the Spring.
12:30pm
Watching a live stream from the TED Palm Spring conference with several of my classmates. We need to write a critique of one of the speakers for our strategic communication class.
03:00pm
Showed a friend, who might move in next fall, my house. My three roommates, who are second years, will be moving out.
05:00pm
Walked into electronic business and discovered that the CEO of Zynga was there. We asked him questions for an hour and a half and heard about his entrepreneurial journey. Fascinating!
08:00pm
Dinner at a Turkish place with former and potential McKinsey hires to answer any questions about their upcoming summer internship at the firm.
Friday
08:00am
Clean my room and walk to campus since it was such a beautiful morning
10:00am
Innovation in Healthcare business class with Bob Kocher as the guest lecturer. He was one of the architects of the 2011 health reform legislation. It was fascinating to hear his perspective on the law and how it’s being implemented.
12:00pm
Writing my self-critique of my last speech to e-mail to my professor, and working on micro and finance homework.
02:00pm
Catch up with my friend Kristina at the “GSB bowl” a grassy area on the edge of campus. We talked about spring break plans. I decided to book my tickets to the UAE with a group of girls and our friend who grew up there.
03:00pm
Micro econ class.
05:00pm
Trip to Trader Joe’s with my friend Ben to buy supplies for the dinner I’m hosting tonight. I loaded up on ingredients for lasagna, salad, and garlic bread!
07:00pm
Dinner with my leadership squad from last quarter. During our first quarter, my squad met once a week for “Leadership Labs”, an experiential learning based class with role plays and lots of discussion.
10:00pm
Hanging out with friends.