UVA McIntire School of Commerce

Imagine presenting your technology strategy to senior executives…who were once sitting exactly where you are.

At UVA McIntire's M.S. in the Management of IT, that's the Executive-on-Grounds (EOG) experience.

Students present a digital innovation proposal based on a real challenge from their own organization to senior technology executives who provide candid, executive-level feedback before those ideas are presented where the stakes are highest.

What makes the experience even more powerful is that many of those executives are MSMIT alumni.

Leaders like Michelle Farr (M.S. in MIT '20), Chief Information Security Officer and Vice President at NXP Semiconductors; Katy Robb (M.S. in MIT '11), Chief Information Officer at Milliman IntelliScript; and Harpreet Peleg (M.S. in MIT '20), Chief Financial Officer of the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust return to mentor the next generation of technology leaders.

It's more than feedback. It's proof of a community that continues to invest in one another, long after graduation. Read how Executive-on-Grounds prepares students to lead with confidence.
https://experience.mcintire.virginia.edu/news/executive-on-grounds-uva-mcintires-msmit-program-connects-students-tech-executives/

Three countries. Three weeks. One unforgettable global classroom. 🌎

This year's Latin America Global Immersion Experience (GIE) gave M.S. in Commerce students the opportunity to explore business beyond borders, traveling through Peru, Argentina, and Brazil to see firsthand how organizations navigate global markets.

Students toured DP World's logistics port to learn about sustainable supply chains, met with the founders of mission-driven companies like Piola Bags and EcoFactory, gained insight into Argentina's financial sector during a visit to Banco Galicia, explored Peru's award-winning chocolate industry at Cacaosuyo, and even participated in an empanada cooking class led by one of Argentina's top chefs.

Experiences like the GIE help students connect classroom learning with real-world business challenges while developing the global perspective needed to lead in today's interconnected economy.

Take a look at a few highlights from this year's journey.

McIntire M.S. in Global Commerce Week: At McIntire, students learn that expertise isn't just about solving problems — it's about communicating solutions clearly. For our Semester-in-Review student spotlight, meet JM Simms (M.S. in Global Commerce '26).

Simms arrived at McIntire's MSGC program with a strong technical foundation from Rhodes College, where he double-majored in International Business and Spanish. What he wanted next was different.

"Undergrad teaches you the technical skills," he says. "This program teaches you how to explain them, how to stand up and tell a story about what you know, why it matters, and how it can help someone."

That focus shows up in courses built around global challenges and current events, where students lead discussions, defend their thinking, and field unscripted questions.

"If you can't explain why you believe something, then you better figure it out pretty fast," Simms says.

It's a skill the modern workplace quietly demands. The person who can translate complex analysis into a clear, compelling story is often the one who gets heard.

As Simms puts it, this program is as much about translation as it is about technical mastery.

Read Simms' full story on Experience McIntire — link in comments.

McIntire M.S. in Global Commerce Week: What if your grad school classmates were also your housemates? At UVA McIntire, that's by design.
For our Semester-in-Review student spotlight, meet Sullivan Warren (M.S. in Global Commerce '26).

In the MSGC program, students move through the experience as a single cohort rather than rotating through mixed classes — and most of them live together, too.

"Even before school starts, you get to know at least part of your cohort," Warren says. "And you learn to live together."

Warren took that to another level. As manager of a global house that included both UVA and ESMT Berlin students, she helped build communication and community from the ground up.

"As a house, we all came to be like, 'You can ask questions. Let's communicate,'" she says. "The communication got a lot better, and that was really cool to see."

That role led to another: MSGC delegate, where she served alongside an elected UVA delegate and an ESMT student to give the cohort a voice with faculty — and to plan hikes, potlucks, and movie nights.

The payoff went beyond friendship. "We've got a real bond," she says, "and that has improved the academic side of our collaboration too."

The takeaway for any team: Trust isn't a nice-to-have. It's what makes the work better.

Read Warren's full story on Experience McIntire — link in comments.

McIntire M.S. in Global Commerce Week: What does a year of global business education actually open up? For Isabelle Klein, a consulting career and a wider sense of what's possible.

For our Semester-in-Review student spotlight, meet Isabelle Klein (M.S. in Global Commerce '26). Klein's MSGC year took her from UVA Grounds in the fall to ESMT Berlin in the spring, in an intentionally small cohort she credits for much of the experience.

"You get really close with people who see the world differently than you do but have something to teach you," she says.

That close-knit, global setting changed how she evaluates opportunity. "This program connects the dots," she explains. "I have developed an appreciation of how complex global challenges influence organizational strategy, governance, and long-term business decision-making."

It also pointed her toward a clear next step. After the program, Klein will join Rockwood Company, a change management consulting firm in Washington, DC, as a Senior Analyst.

Her biggest takeaway is one worth carrying into any program: "McIntire showed me there are more options out there than I originally thought."

For students wondering whether a focused master's is worth it, that expanded horizon may be the most valuable outcome of all.

Read Klein's full story on Experience McIntire — link in comments.

McIntire M.S. in Global Commerce Week: A school teaching computer skills on chalkboards, with just two working computers. McIntire students set out to help change that.

For our Semester-in-Review spotlight, meet Emma DeMarco (M.S. in Global Commerce '26). For her capstone Social Impact Project, DeMarco and her team traveled to Winneba, Ghana, partnering with the Charlottesville-Winneba Foundation through a sister-city program.

At Coast Bridge Academy, a local technology school, they found a clear need: Students were learning computer skills without enough computers to practice on.

"Right now, they have only four computers and two working ones," DeMarco said before the trip. "They teach their students on chalkboards how to use technology."

So her team got to work, pitching to investors to fund the purchase of approximately 30 computers for the school, while also leading digital marketing for Winneba's largest annual event, the Aboakyer Festival.

For DeMarco, the project combined hands-on consulting with meaningful community impact: expanding digital access while helping elevate a cultural celebration to a wider audience.

This is what consulting with real stakes looks like.

Read more about the MSGC Social Impact Projects on Experience McIntire — link in comments.

McIntire M.S. in Global Commerce Week: Will AI replace HR, or reinvent it? One McIntire student is betting on the strategic side.

For our Semester-in-Review student spotlight, meet Brennan Curi (M.S. in Global Commerce '26).

Curi came into the program with a Human Resources Management degree from Virginia Tech — and a question about where the field is headed as AI reshapes it.

His answer is shaping his career plans.

"With the way AI technology is advancing in the field, there will be a need for professionals who focus on the strategic parts of HR," he says.

At the same time, McIntire's International Consulting course sparked a strong interest in organizational strategy. "I am passionate about solving problems with confidence as well as efficiency, so I want to explore more opportunities in consulting," he explains.

Now he's looking for the intersection of the two — a role that blends strategic HR with consulting.

It's a smart read on the future of work: As AI automates routine tasks, the premium shifts to people who can think strategically about people.

For students wondering how to stay relevant in an AI-driven market, Curi's approach is worth borrowing: find where your background meets where the world is going.

Read Curi's full story on Experience McIntire — link in comments.

McIntire M.S. in Global Commerce Week: From teaching 6-year-olds in South Korea to managing a 35,000-person return-to-office plan, this McIntire grad's path was anything but linear.

For our Semester-in-Review alumni spotlight, meet Erin Bailey (M.S. in Global Commerce '19). Bailey's career didn't follow a straight line. After college, she taught English in South Korea — a "masterclass in resilience" that also taught her teaching wasn't her calling. That realization led her to McIntire's MSGC program and, eventually, a coveted traineeship at Allianz.

Then she moved to Paris on Jan. 1, 2020 — weeks before the world shut down.

Living alone in a 235-square-foot apartment under a strict lockdown, she was placed in Allianz's Crisis Management and Business Continuity department at the worst possible moment. There, she spent six months helping manage the return-to-office strategy for a company of 35,000 employees.

"Everything felt urgent, which is exciting but also very tiring," she recalls.

That baptism by fire eventually led her to the Olympic Movement — and, years later, to carrying the torch in Italy.

The lesson for students worried about a non-linear path: The detours often build the exact skills the destination requires.

Read Bailey's full story at link in comments.

Founders Edition: Want to know the one asset most creators don't actually own? Their audience.
For our Founders Edition semester wrap-up, here's Ken Jee (M.S. in Commerce '15), a McIntire alum who's gone all-in on email.

After years of building algorithm-dependent content, Jee pivoted to newsletters — and he's not subtle about why. "I am super bullish on the newsletter business in general," he says.

His reason is ownership. "It's the only way you own your audience," he explains. Unlike social platforms, newsletters offer clearer monetization, predictable customer acquisition, and insulation from algorithm shifts.

The proof is in his own numbers. His Austin Founders Feed, which curates weekly startup events and local business news, launched on Dec. 7, 2025 — and is already at around 2,900 subscribers.

And his advice to aspiring entrepreneurs runs against the usual "go big" mantra: "Think smaller rather than larger. Local businesses are incredibly good, incredibly lucrative. And there's way less competition."

A fitting note to close the Founders Edition semester-in-review on: You don't need to win everywhere. You need to own something.

Read Jee's full Founders Edition feature on Experience McIntire — link in comments.

Founders Edition: What does a founder of 20 restaurants still want to learn? Plenty — and some of it comes from students.

For our Founders Edition semester wrap-up, here's Joseph Linzon, the 2015 McIntire alum and co-founder of Roots Natural Kitchen and Corner Juice.

Even after building two beloved brands and earning a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 List, Linzon talks like someone still in the room to learn.

He lights up about peers at the top of the industry. "Being shoulder to shoulder with leaders in the industry, like Steve Ells, the Founder of Chipotle, is incredible," he says.

But he's just as energized by the other end of the experience spectrum: students.

"I love connecting with students," he says. "They open my mind, challenge my assumptions, and teach me so much."

It's a quietly powerful reminder for anyone building a career: Curiosity doesn't expire when you succeed. The founders who keep growing are the ones who keep listening — to mentors and mentees alike.

Read Linzon's full Founders Edition feature on Experience McIntire — link in comments.