Alumni Success Stories
Equipping You for the Journey Ahead
MS in Management (MiM) Online alumni are well-prepared for careers across industries. The education they have received has positioned them for success by providing the management and leadership skills that serve to drive strategic direction, improve performance and collaboration, support organizational growth, and increase efficiency and competitiveness. Read their testimonials.
The alumni profiles below afford a snapshot of the diverse professional pathways our graduates pursue, and the value of the degree they've earned.
Where Our Alumni Work:
Big Brothers & Big Sisters NYC • Con Edison • Department of Health and Mental Hygiene • Four Points Manhattan Midtown West • J.P. Morgan • Osaic Wealth • Maimonides Medical Center • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center • Neiman Marcus • New York Army National Guard • Swatch, and more!
Lauren Nurse
(GABELLI ‘23)
AVP, Real Estate and Strategic Development, Maimonides Medical Center
From a young age, Lauren Nurse sensed that she would pursue a career in healthcare. What began as a childhood dream of becoming a pediatrician or neuroscientist evolved into a career devoted to helping patients through leadership positions in hospital operations. After completing a bachelor’s degree at Brooklyn College and exploring numerous administrative career paths, Nurse landed a job at Maimonides Medical Center where she has built a highly successful, 16-year career, assuming roles of increasing responsibility including her current job as AVP of real estate and strategic development. “I knew I wanted to have an impact on patient care, and after deciding that I didn’t want a medical career, I focused on other opportunities that would fulfill my desire to make a difference,” she noted.
Starting in the engineering department at Maimonides, Nurse was inspired by the critical, behind-the-scenes function of hospital administration. Over the years, she has supported crucial operational areas reporting directly to the chief operating officer. Her hands-on approach and ability to solve problems, while building relationships across the organization have earned her opportunities to work closely with C-suite, executives, contributing to major initiatives ranging from facilities optimization to real estate planning.
After more than a decade of dedicating herself to work and caring for her family, Nurse decided to focus on advancing her education. “I reached a point in my life where I asked myself, ‘What am I doing for me?’” She had always planned to pursue a graduate degree and decided this was her path forward. With the support of the leadership at Maimonides and inspired by a family legacy at Fordham, she enrolled in the online MS in Management at the Gabelli School.
The experience, she reflected, was transformative. “My professors were all very supportive as I completed the degree while working full time and parenting my son. I connected with our close-knit cohort and felt a renewed sense of purpose being part of the Gabelli community.” Even through personal challenges, including the loss of both grandparents during her first semester, she stayed focused and committed to investing in herself personally and professionally.
Today, she is utilizing the knowledge and leadership skill sets she has acquired to continue to advance in her career while playing a key role in making the patient experience the very best it can be.
Aaron Frager
(Gabelli ‘21)
Vice President, Recruitment & Outreach, Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC
By the time Aaron Frager began considering graduate programs in management, they had already earned three undergraduate degrees and had built a career working in nonprofit organizations. Already focused on becoming an inspiring leader, they wanted a program that would strengthen their leadership in the nonprofit sector while accommodating the realities of a full-time workload. After exploring a number of graduate education options, Frager chose the Gabelli School’s MS in Management program for its focus on humanistic principles and encouraging support, which also provided options to explore career paths that best suited their future ambitions. “What stood out immediately was how intentional and supportive the admissions team was,” Frager recalled. “They took the time to walk me through every detail of the program helping me to envision how it could fit into my life as a working professional while becoming the leader I wanted to be.”
Commencing the program of study during the early months of the pandemic, Frager quickly adjusted to learning in a fully online environment, enjoying a strong sense of connection with classmates and professors despite the distance. Faculty members and administrators were deeply committed to student success, providing steady encouragement and flexibility when challenges arose. “You just had to ask,” Frager said. “The support was always there.”
The MS in Management online cohort became a close-knit community and although members for the first time in person at the School’s culminating Graduate Diploma Ceremony, they had bonded in a way that has lasted far beyond graduation. The humanistic management courses and a focus on social responsibility had an especially lasting impact, shaping both their leadership style and their approach to community engagement— all of which helped them take on the VP of recruitment and outreach role at Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Frager’s new, additional position as an admissions manager at the Gabelli School brings their educational experience full circle. “I’m excited to help prospective students understand what this program can offer,” they explained. “It changed how I lead, how I work, and how I show up for others.”