By Katie Dreier, BS ’12, MBA ’15
LinkedIn
Twitter
What were you doing before you came to Cornell Tech?
Before coming to Cornell Tech I was a User Experience Researcher at Shutterstock here in NYC. At Shutterstock I got to help imagine, design, and launch some of the most fun and innovative projects across many of their product and tech teams.
Why did you choose to come to Cornell Tech?
It’s simple: Cornell Tech was the only school for me. When I read about the MBA program, I knew it was meant to be. This isn’t a traditional MBA program or graduate school — it’s the only place in the country where I could blend my love for technology, my creative experience, and my need for a stronger business background while working with both business and engineering students. I finally didn’t have to choose which bucket I belonged in. I simply belonged at Cornell Tech.
What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned at Cornell Tech?
Among the most valuable lessons I learned at Cornell Tech, I learned to embrace ambiguity. No two days at Cornell Tech are the same. And no two weeks have the same challenges. Each morning is different and each afternoon comes with a new group project, problem to solve, laughable moment or teaching moment in the studio. I learned that a routine isn’t the most important thing; it’s being able to find the valuable lessons in the most unexpected moments.
What have you been up to since graduating from Cornell Tech?
I’m so excited to be working at Adobe in their Creative Cloud group here in NYC! I can’t think of a better place to blend my creative, tech, and business backgrounds in order to lead an exciting intrapreneurship project from within the company. I think being a Cornell Tech student is about taking advantage of the opportunities that you couldn’t have imagined before coming to Cornell Tech. It’s not just about starting companies. (For some it is). But I think it’s also about taking what we learned in Startup Studio — and the rest of the curriculum at Cornell Tech — and applying it in a new environment. It’s about pushing the boundaries of how tech products are built and run today and challenging and inspiring both yourself and those around you. That’s how you create both a successful business and a product that customers love.
What is something interesting people may be surprised to learn about you?
People may be surprised to learn that I never thought about going to business school. It seemed too formal, academic, and removed from reality for me. Cornell Tech was the exact opposite of that. Now I can’t imagine running a business without having learned both the business and tech-focused fundamentals that are so core to the Cornell Tech experience.
Katie is an Engagement Chair on the new Cornell Tech Alumni Council. As a volunteer board — and in true Cornell Tech fashion — CTAC is looking to reinvent the way alumni interact with each other and their university. Katie is focused on encouraging Engagement through recruitment, career services, social and educational events, community service activities, and participation in the studio curriculum.
