By Arial Starks
Anna Kovach
During her time as an undergraduate student at the University of Oregon, Anna Kovach double-majored in Business and Spanish. She originally thought she wanted to pursue marketing post-grad, but an HR elective course she took in her senior year inspired a pivot to Human Resources (HR). Kovach began her career as a Marketing and HR Manager at Chula’s Restaurant in Eugene, Oregon. She went on to hold different Human Resources positions before ultimately deciding to return to school for her MBA. After looking at several schools, Vanderbilt Business was the only program that met her needs.
“I looked at a lot of schools, but I was looking for an MBA program that had a focus in Human Resources, and I very quickly found out that what I wanted was kind of a niche degree,” said Kovach. “Finding out Vanderbilt had a customizable MBA program with an HR track was very crucial in my decision to come here.”
Kovach began her journey towards earning an MBA at Vanderbilt in August of 2020. Shortly after starting the program, she joined and took leadership positions in several campus organizations, including the Human and Organizational Performance Association, Women’s Business Association and the Jewish Business Association. She credits her leadership positions on campus with teaching her essential skills like program coordinating and leadership. After attending the 2020 HOP (Human and Organizational Performance) Symposium, Kovach learned about Citi, a New York City-based Financial Services company and applied for their Human Resources Management Summer Associate internship.
After earning and accepting an internship offer from Citi, Kovach interned virtually during the summer of 2021. She impressed team leaders enough to earn an offer for a full-time position as a Human Resources Management Associate in New York City. She credits Vanderbilt Business’ network of faculty, peers, and alumni with preparing her and giving her the confidence she needed for this moment.
“The alumni network is always so quick to hop on a phone call and offer support, it’s kind of mind-blowing, honestly. I did mock interviews with alumni as early as the HOPA symposium, which happened the first week of school. Without HOPA and the Vanderbilt Network, I wouldn’t have been able to get the internship with Citi. Working alongside my peers in class then gave me the skills and support I needed to be able to do the internship well enough to get a job offer, and I’m so grateful,” said Kovach.
Since accepting the job with Citi, Kovach has shifted her attention to helping organize networking events through campus organizations to help first-year students navigate their journey to landing a job.
“So much of our coursework helps prepare you for the working world, but I really think getting involved on campus and working with your peers to problem-solve and apply what you’ve learned in class to impact change at Owen is a core piece of why we’re all here. Surrounding yourself with Owen peers, faculty and Alumni who believe in you sometimes when you don’t believe in yourself is so important,” says Kovach.
Click through the timeline below to see a visual of how Kovach got the job.
