UNC Kenan-Flagler

 

Nicole van Tongeren

MBA Class of 2009

Nicole van Tongeren

My MBA concentration: Marketing

My internship

"After my half-semester long study abroad at ESSEC Business School outside Paris, where I am focusing on luxury brand management, I will return to North Carolina and work in the marketing department at Hanesbrands Inc. in Winston-Salem. I’m excited about Hanesbrands because of its breadth of familiar, quality brands and the possibility to focus on several different marketing objectives, including advertising and promotional plans, financial analysis and planning or new product lines and extensions."

Background

  • Born in Buffalo, NY, came to Chapel Hill from New York City
  • BS in Business, State University of New York at Buffalo, 2000
  • Auditor in the real estate group at Ernst & Young in New York City
  • Worked as a portfolio administrator for a hedge fund and an investor relations associate for the private equity firm, CCMP Capital Advisors, in New York
  • For two months, between leaving New York City and arriving in Chapel Hill, took a Spanish language immersion course in Guatemala

Career goals

"I’ve held a variety of positions and have a strong background in finance. My goal is to capitalize on that financial knowledge and to learn more about marketing in business school to take those two components together and become a brand manager."

Why I chose UNC

  • Location
  • Smaller class sizes
  • Highly respected marketing program
  • Offered the Falls Prize, a two-year fellowship

Student life

"I am honored to be the recipient of a full tuition scholarship and the Falls Prize. It has offered me the freedom to pursue what I love and what will benefit my career. For instance, as a first generation American (my parents are from Poland) I have always had a strong interest in internationalism and languages. I'm able to combine my studies in North Carolina with two study abroad programs (one in France and one in the Netherlands) as well as a Spanish working languages program. All of these experiences help to round out my education and prepare me better for the challenges that lie ahead as I move towards a career in international marketing."

My experience of the MBA program at UNC

  • That the core curriculum is taught by the school’s best professors says a lot about Kenan-Flagler’s commitment to the students, and so does the fact that I’ve never had a moment when a teacher wouldn’t make time for me.
  • The number of opportunities for leadership roles is breathtaking. There’s something for everyone. I’m a member of the Career Resources Center advisory board, and the Marketing and Communications advisory board, which assists the school in brand-building.
  • Administration and staff welcome and encourage student feedback, and the information they gather is actually applied so there’s always forward movement.
  • The learning process is rigorous. But it’s not that you’re pitted against your schoolmates, it’s more that you’re pitted against yourself. There’s a cooperative spirit that starts with the emphasis on your team and teamwork.

The UNC Kenan-Flagler network

"The passion that alumni have for the business school struck me right away, and it’s one of the things that makes the recruitment program so strong. You can also count on members of the network to be very candid. I have an alumni mentor and a career advisor, and I know they’ll always be honest with me and will work to steer me in the right direction."

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