2017 Best & Brightest: Callie Livengood, University of Minnesota (Carlson)

Callie Livengood

University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management

“Practitioner of responsible business for the greater good. Education enthusiast. Trailblazer for redheads everywhere.”

Fun fact about yourself: This past summer I did a 16-day national parks road trip that took me 5,000 miles through eight states and five national parks.

Hometown: Merced, California

High School: Batavia High School in Batavia, Illinois

Major: Finance and Political Science

Favorite Business Courses: Options and Derivatives, Portfolio Management, and the Carlson Consulting Enterprise (experiential learning program focused on consulting)

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:

  • Intern at the Minnesota Student Association, the on-campus student government and advocacy organization
  • Vice Chair of the Student Representatives to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota
  • Chair of the Student Representatives to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota
  • Executive Board Member of the Minnesota Student Association
  • Founder of the Ramsey Middle School tutoring program, a program that brings University of Minnesota honors students to a local middle school to tutor in STEM subjects. I also ran this program for four semesters, with the program donating roughly 3,000 service hours to Ramsey Middle School.
  • Student worker for the Gopher Chauffeur, an on-campus service that gives safe rides home to students on weekends
  • Student worker for the Office of the General Counsel at the University of Minnesota
  • Student representative to the Provost’s Committee on Student Mental Health, a working group tasked with understanding how faculty and staff can help students with mental health needs
  • Self-driven research and analysis on my summa cum laude senior thesis work entitled “Understanding Teacher Drivers in Educational Environments”

Where have you interned during your college career?

  • Intern in external partnerships at Minneapolis Public Schools in Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Human Capital Summer Scholar at Deloitte Consulting in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Describe your dream Job: I hope to be an executive at a nonprofit organization that researches, raises money for, and funds projects to diminish the educational opportunity gap in urban areas.

What did you enjoy most about majoring in a business-related field? I most enjoyed the time I spent collaborating and building relationships with the people that I met in my business classes. As a dual-degree student, I take both business and non-business classes, and I find that the students I worked with through my finance and other business courses are some of the most interesting and driven people I know. We spend time brainstorming ways of giving back to our community, thinking of future companies that we would like to start together, and generally engaging in intriguing conversations that I know have further developed me as a person.

What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business? I would say that the biggest lesson that my business degree has given me is how to work with and motivate other people to do their best. Though I never directly studied it, I learned more about leadership and collaboration in my business courses than I ever expected. Those are lessons that I know make me successful in the workplace and will continue to make me successful after graduation.

Where would you like to work after graduation? I have accepted a position working for Deloitte Consulting as a business analyst after graduation.

What are your long-term professional goals? I hope to attend graduate school for my MBA and Masters in Public Policy after working for Deloitte Consulting. I then plan to use those degrees and my business experience to work for a nonprofit organization that focuses on education and eventually start my own education nonprofit.

What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? I think my biggest asset in my business studies is never feeling pressured to fit into any specific business mold. Understand that business acumen and knowledge is useful in absolutely any setting, so find what makes you happy and use your skills in that setting, no matter what it is.

“I knew I wanted to major in business when…I visited an education nonprofit in Washington D.C. and realized how badly I wanted to start my own organization just like it.”

“If I didn’t major in business, I would be…an education researcher assisting policy makers.”

“Before I entered business school, I wish I had known…that classes matter, but the most valuable asset I will gain is the lifelong friends and future business partners I will make there.”

What was the happiest moment of your life? It was the moment that I was awarded a scholarship to the University of Minnesota that made it possible for my family and I to afford this school. I enrolled in the class of 2017 the very same day.

Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? Though I have participated in many activities at the University of Minnesota, the program I started at Ramsey Middle School in Minneapolis is the one achievement I hold most closely to my heart. This program was the very first of its kind, and it is completely student-driven. To be at that school and speak to the students and teachers that the tutors are helping is incredible, but to then hear the tutors talk about the lessons they learned in that role is so rewarding.

What animal would you choose to represent your professional brand? An owl. The owl is smart and reserved yet powerful, and an animal people think of when they think of wisdom and poise. I am often thought of for my professionalism, and though I am not always the first to speak people always listen when I do. I pride myself on my calm nature and ability to think clearly through difficult or challenging situations.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? My mom. My entire life, she has been by my side, showing me what it looks like to be a driven, successful woman who also cares so deeply for her community. She is the strongest and most resilient person I know and without her support I wouldn’t be where I am today.

What would you like your business school peers to say about you after you graduate from this program? Callie is smart, but also one of the most hardworking and determined people I know.

Favorite book: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Favorite movie: Goodwill Hunting

Favorite musical performer: The Lumineers

Favorite vacation spot: Seattle

What are your hobbies? Reading, throwing ceramics, camping, hiking, volleyball, and working out

What made Callie such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2017?

“Callie Livengood brought deep intellectual curiosity to her project work and paired that with an ability to solve tough, real-world problems and push her team’s thinking to the next level; in two words: intellectual leadership. When you pause to reflect on the fact that this was in an MBA-level program and she was the only undergraduate on the team, you realize how truly invaluable she was both to those teams and to her class. She was responsible for driving the outcome of her project to a higher level that wouldn’t have been achieved without her. This meant more learning for her classmates, more satisfied clients, and a higher bar of excellence for all those around her.”

Severin St. Martin
Senior Lecturer and Managing Director of the Carlson Consulting Enterprise
University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management

DON’T MISS: THE FULL HONOR ROLL: THE BEST & BRIGHTEST UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS MAJORS OF 2017

Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below.