Among Erin Mitchell’s many activities during her first year at the Illinois MBA, becoming a hot air balloon pilot was a goal about which she was particularly passionate. Her family owns two hot air balloons and she has been involved in the sport all her life. The ability to balance this pursuit with all of her other academic and extracurricular demands is evidence of her excellent time management skills.

Looking back on her first year, she recalls, “I quickly learned time was a very valuable commodity that I did not want to waste. I worked very hard to finish my homework in plenty of time, actually worked in an hour of relaxation time each day, and still managed to be in bed by 10 p.m. every night!”

This fact is even more amazing when considering her involvement in the Illinois MBA. Erin serves as the president of the Women in Business Society, an elected member of Academic Council, and also contributes to the Graduate Marketing and Latin American Business Associations. Although all of this would be overwhelming to some, it was energizing to Erin: “I love being a part of the IMBA community and working to make it the best community possible.”

Coming from a background in federal government, Erin’s goal entering the Illinois MBA was to learn as much as possible about the business world.  “Honestly, when I joined IMBA, I knew I wanted to be in business but did not have a clue as to which specific aspect. I was always drawn to marketing, PR, and advertising jobs and knew I needed more education. During my first year, I felt like a sponge, learning as much as I could about as many different aspects of business as possible.”

Erin pursued her interest in marketing by accepting a summer internship at Roundtable Media, Inc. – an advertising agency at the University of Illinois Research Park and EnterpriseWorks. While initially hired to do market research, the scope of her responsibilities quickly expanded to giving presentations, working directly with clients, and even meeting regularly with the CEO on corporate development. At the end of the summer, she was one of eight students (and the only woman) to win the “2008 Most Valuable Intern” award out of over 300 interns at the Research Park. Needless to say, Erin had a fantastic summer and is currently in negotiations with Roundtable for a full-time job after graduation.