Carly Appel
University of Virginia, McIntire School of Commerce
“Intellectually curious, sourdough-baking, problem solver who never misses the NYT or LinkedIn Games.”
Fun fact about yourself: Throughout high school, I built stage sets for our musicals and plays!
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
High School: Pace Academy
Major: Commerce with Concentrations in Finance & Management
Minor: Statistics
Favorite Business Course: My favorite business course is COMM 3420: Commercial Law II with Professor Sherri Moore. Comm Law II pushed beyond the legal foundation built in the first course of the series and extended into practical and relevant application of the law in a business context. The course challenged me to think critically about real-world business disputes and ambiguous scenarios. Professor Moore made complex legal concepts feel engaging by grounding them in storytelling and humor as well.
Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:
SEED Consulting – President
Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity – VP Membership
McIntire Ambassador Program – Lead Ambassador
Madison House – SOCA Charlottesville Program Director
UVA Honor Support Officer – Investigator / Counsel
Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority
Teaching Assistant (TA) – COMM 3110: Intermediate Accounting
Teaching Assistant (TA) – COMM 3030: Communications
Teaching Assistant (TA) – LPPS 3440: Management Consulting & Strategic Decision Making
Echols Mentor
Girls Who Consult Mentor
Consulting Academy Mentorship Program (CAMP) Mentor
Peer Notetaker
Honors/Awards:
Echols Scholar
Raven Society
Joseph Miniotas Communications Scholar
Dean’s List
Where have you interned during your college career?
Bain & Company as an Associate Consultant Intern in New York City
North Highland as a Management Consulting Intern in Atlanta
Linch Capital as an Investment Banking Intern in Atlanta
Where will you be working after graduation? Bain & Company as an Associate Consultant in New York City
Who is your favorite business professor? Many professors come to mind, but Professor Gary Ballinger stands out. In taking his Organizational Behavior class my third year during the Integrated Core at McIntire, I recognized Professor Ballinger’s rare ability to make these concepts both intellectually rigorous and also so much fun. His class pushes students to reflect on how people actually think and feel in negotiation-like settings and fosters an environment that encourages curiosity and self-awareness. I consistently left his class feeling like I gained so much from our in-class activities and would be able to apply my learnings to real-world scenarios in the future.
What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business? The biggest lesson I gained from studying business is the value of diverse perspectives in decision-making. Through various group projects and collaborative work at McIntire, I’ve found the strongest solutions emerge when different backgrounds and ways of thinking are brought into the conversation. We learn different frameworks to structure our thinking, but there is no one-size-fits-all approach to business, and diverse perspectives across members improve the quality of output across the whole team. Being an active listener and challenging my own assumptions proved to be just as important as any hard skill.
What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? For students looking to major in business, I’d encourage them to get involved in business-related clubs as early as possible. These organizations have single-handedly shaped my UVA experience. They provide hands-on opportunities to apply classroom concepts, learn from peers, and explore interests across various areas of business. Through clubs, not only can you develop practical business-related skills, you build meaningful relationships that will last through your college career and beyond.
Some of the best choices I made in college were joining SEED Consulting and Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity. These organizations attracted like-minded individuals who were curious, motivated, and eager to learn – many of whom are now some of my closest friends. Beyond the social aspect, both groups challenged me to step out of my comfort zone, collaborate, and think critically about problems. The sense of community and shared purpose within these clubs made my experience at UVA more meaningful and helped shape both my personal growth and professional interests.
What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What is one insight you gained from using AI? One way McIntire has integrated AI into its programming is by intentionally incorporating it as a learning and problem-solving tool in the classroom. In Professor Reeves Johnson’s Quantitative Analysis class, we were given structured prompts to use with AI after class to reinforce concepts and practice applying the material independently. Similarly, Professor Amanda Cowen encouraged us to use AI during an in-class strategy simulation to test how well it could reason through complex decisions related to globalization and value chain design.
One key insight I gained from using AI is that it is most valuable as a complement to human judgment rather than a replacement for it. While AI was helpful in clarifying concepts, generating frameworks, and exploring possible strategic paths, it still struggled with nuance, context, and trade-offs that required human intuition and critical thinking.
Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? My overwhelming passion is to help others succeed personally and professionally, and I am most proud of the positive impact I have been able to leave on the community at UVA and McIntire through that commitment. Rather than a single moment, the proudest achievement is the community that I have helped build, where students feel supported and prepared navigating academic and career oriented challenges.
This impact is most visible through my leadership in SEED Consulting as President and AKPsi as Vice President of Membership. As a first year, older members invested so much in me, from career coaching to personal advice, and this generosity motivated me to pay it forward. As a leader, I focused on creating an environment where every member felt seen and valued. I intentionally worked to demystify the Executive Board of the organizations, trying to ensure members new or old feel they can come to leadership with any problem, concern, or just a life update. At UVA and McIntire, my legacy and impact will be measured by the success of those I serve, and I can think of no greater achievement than developing the next generation of leaders.
Which classmate do you most admire? The person I admire most is Marie Moemeka. I’ve known Marie since the very beginning of first year, and she has served as an inspiration ever since. Last year, we had the pleasure of being Integrated Core block-mates together, and she is truly a force to be reckoned with in the classroom. Beyond academics, she is a loyal, genuine, and honest friend with a desire to make everyone around her better.
From training and mentoring new members of SEED Consulting, to founding and leading Virginia Alzheimer’s Alliance, Marie has an unstoppable determination grounded in empathy for the communities she serves. She pairs this drive with a lighthearted sense of humor, strengthening any team dynamic and fostering authentic relationships. I have no doubt that Marie will excel throughout the rest of fourth year, law school, and beyond, and I can’t wait to see all she accomplishes.
Who would you most want to thank for your success? I want to thank my parents for their constant generosity and unwavering support. Their encouragement has enabled me to continue pursuing opportunities and persevere through times of difficulty and stress. They instilled in me the values of integrity and hard work, which have been integral to my college experience. By approaching every opportunity with positivity and grace, my parents modeled what true dedication looks like in practice. Their love and support have shaped me in more ways than I can express, and I am incredibly grateful for the example they set.
What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?
1. I’d love to pursue another degree to deepen my expertise, broaden my perspective as a leader, and continue building an analytical foundation for my future.
2. I am eager to go on externship while at Bain. Externship is a very rare opportunity to gain hands-on exposure to a specific industry of interest from an operating perspective and expose me to new ways of building and scaling organizations.
What made Carly such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2026?
“Carly Appel has been an invaluable member of the Class of 2026 and one of the strongest students I have worked with in my strategy and data analytics–focused consulting course. She was such an outstanding student that I asked her to join the course staff, and she has served in that role for the past two years. Carly is exceptionally organized, reliable, and consistently ahead of the curve. She is a natural leader and coach who helps students sharpen their strategic thinking and translate analysis into clear, actionable insights. This often includes helping students debug Excel models, tighten data visualizations, and prepare for consulting case interviews. She brings this same skill set to her role as President of SEED, a social impact consulting organization that provides consulting services to both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Carly elevates the quality of both the work and the people around her, and she has made a lasting impact on my course and the broader UVA community.”
Brendan Boler
University of Virginia Career Center Faculty Director Of Integrated Career Education
Assistant Professor Of Public Policy
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