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Karen V

- Research Program Mentor

MBA candidate at Duke University

Expertise

business management, mba, leadership

Bio

My name is Karen and I'm in my final year in my MBA program at Duke University. Before business school, I was a District Manager at Aldi overseeing 4-5 store teams at a time focusing on driving store operations and KPIs, developing the stores' staffs/leadership teams, and overseeing large projects, like Grand Openings and Store Remodels. Post-business school, I will be joining Deloitte as a Senior Consultant and plan on leveraging the skills I gained during my time at Aldi to effectively add value to projects and work in my field of interests (Sports Business, Consumer Goods, Luxury Goods, Retail). Outside of school and work, my hobbies are mainly centered around fitness, food, traveling, and my dogs. I've been weightlifting for over 10 years now and I just picked up running over the summer. I love trying new restaurants and cooking for others (although I hate cleaning up after myself, it kind of ruins the whole experience for me), especially if I get the opportunity to try new foods in a different country. Recently, I picked up a digital camera to start capturing my life and it has allowed me to start finding the joy in all of my experiences in life. I own 2 dogs, a Doberman (2 years old) and an American Bully (6 years old), that I swear are basically my children.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Social Media Marketing Campaign

Objective: Develop a social media strategy for a local business. Details: Students collaborate with a local business (or a simulated one) to create a one-month social media content calendar and growth strategy. This could include researching competitors, designing posts, setting engagement goals, and running a small social media campaign if possible. Skills Learned: Social media management, branding, content creation, digital marketing.

Pop-Up Shop or Mini Enterprise

Objective: Create and run a small pop-up business for a day. Details: Students work together to plan, launch, and operate a small business, like a bake sale or merchandise booth. They track their finances, calculate profits, and analyze performance after the event. Skills Learned: Entrepreneurship, budgeting, teamwork, event planning

Teaching experience

I have mentored students in 3rd-5th grade in after-school programs where I put together programming to teach them about health and wellness. I have also mentored incoming managers at work

Credentials

Work experience

Aldi (2019 - 2023)
District Manager
Target (2018 - 2018)
Summer Associate

Education

Virginia Commonwealth University
BBA Bachelor of Business Administration (2019)
Business Management and Administration
Duke University
MBA Master of Business Administration candidate

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