Claudia Clemente and Renato Agrella
Earning a “Family MBA"
Andrea Agrella may only be in third grade, but inspired by her parents’ example, she plans to earn her MBA “in art." Andrea already started her business education by helping her parents with homework, attending MBA social events and even advising her dad’s student team on a case competition project.
Andrea’s parents Claudia Clemente and Renato Agrella said they chose the MBA Program at the University of Washington because it best fit their career goals and their family lifestyle. “We love the city," Clemente affirmed. “It’s so family friendly — the public schools are so good and we love hiking and going to museums and the theater. Plus the UW Program allowed me the flexibility to earn an MBA and an MS in industrial engineering in two years." Now Clemente leverages her business and engineering skills as a senior network analyst at Alaska Airlines where she develops mid- and long-range strategic plans and market growth forecasts.
As a student, Clemente helped expand the MBA Program’s outreach to Hispanic communities. “People from the program gave me all the tools I needed for success and the size of the program allowed me to have access to great resources," she described. She continues to support other students as a board member in the National Society of Hispanic MBAs local chapter.
Now that Clemente’s career has lifted off, Agrella is pursuing his MBA goals in marketing and entrepreneurship. He’s interested in economic development on a global scale and will apply his marketing skills this summer with an internship to teach Hispanic Americans how to establish good credit. Agrella said that what impressed him most about the MBA Program was the welcoming, collaborative culture. “The best thing is that your classmates have a lot of work and life experience and they help you all the time. That blended with the academic expertise of the faculty — it’s a great package."