Penn State Smeal student and professor foster mentorship through MBA program

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A shared passion for international communications has served as the basis for the tight-knit mentoring relationship between Nancy Mahon, Penn State Smeal College of Business clinical professor, and Kärin Strom, a Penn State Smeal MBA student.

Before attending Penn State, Strom was an undergraduate student at Whitworth University with a degree in speech communications. With this background, Strom dove into various international experiences and opportunities around development and education. 

Strom worked with the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program where she taught English in Japan for five years. From there, she joined the Peace Corps, volunteering in a remote town in South America for two years working on education and a broad range of development projects. 

“I loved the international experience,” Strom said. “I became really passionate about teaching and cultural exchange in general.” 

Once back in the United States, Strom found herself at Penn State in 2020 during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.  

“My husband was joining the MBA program here, and I also got a job working with Penn State as it set up its quarantine and isolation programs,” said Strom

In working with the University’s COVID-19 quarantine and isolation division, Strom explained how interesting it was to work with such cross-functional teams across the University.  

“From the health department to contact tracing, housing, medical services, and of course residence life,” Strom said, “I loved the decision-making process and the strategy behind it because a lot went into trying to navigate how we coordinate the services that students need when they are isolated.”  

While working at Penn State and watching her husband work toward his MBA, Strom said she had “a front-row seat” to Penn State Smeal's graduate program. By meeting his classmates, specifically some of the women in the program, Strom began to see how she could begin her corporate career.  

“Learning from their experience, I saw a path where I could use some of my passion for community development as well as working strategically with cross-functional teams, and I could move that into a business position,” Strom said. “I was really interested in moving from grassroots work to the corporate side of things, taking all of the experience and knowledge from that and bringing it to corporate.”   

Making connections 

Strom enrolled in Smeal’s MBA program in 2021 with a focus on marketing and supply chain management. As a returned Peace Corps volunteer, Strom received financial assistance for graduate school through the Paul D. Coverdell Fellows program.  

 As part of her studies, Strom completed a business communications course, where her relationship with Mahon, who teaches courses in oral, written and graphic communications, began.  

“In the midst of learning finance, accounting and topics that were very foreign to me, the communications class was much more familiar," Strom said. “Public speaking, being in front of people, having taught for so many years, and pulling upon some of my communication theory; it was a place that felt a little bit more like home amid some of these courses that were very different to me.”  

While Strom found a home through the class, Mahon spotted Strom’s dedication and passion throughout those two semesters.  

“She’s the person that would sit in the front row and was always ready to go with all work and to contribute to class projects,” Mahon said.  

Mahon also guided Strom as she participated in case competitions, supporting her teams and coaching her through the experience.

Leveraging International Opportunities 

With a strong passion for Mahon’s business communications course, Strom showed interest in becoming a teaching assistant for the class. Luckily for Strom, Mahon was looking for second-year MBA students to become teaching assistants for first-year students.  

“I reached out in the spring about wanting to potentially be a TA for that class the following year, and we soon started meeting to talk about what it would entail,” Strom said.  

At the time, Mahon was also recruiting for a teaching assistant to accompany her on an intercultural global business course in Barcelona, Spain, over the summer. The three-week, Maymester course consisted of learning and traveling to various sites across Spain.  

Mahon explained that as their conversations progressed and she learned more about Strom’s international and teaching background, Strom “came to mind immediately” as a potential candidate for the trip.  

“First of all, she has a business and communications background, which was a perfect fit,” Mahon said. “She’s traveled internationally, so she was comfortable with that, and I was personally very impressed with her.”  

While Strom had plans for a summer internship with Dell, she had a few weeks available in May that worked out perfectly for the three-week teaching experience in Spain.  

“It had kind of been perfect timing,” Strom said.  

With an approaching internship, Strom explained how Mahon continued to support and provide her with guidance throughout the summer trip. 

“While we were in Barcelona, I was preparing for my internship with Dell, and as someone who is transitioning from the nonprofit, nontraditional journey into a corporate role in technology, it was wonderful that I was able to work with Dr. Mahon,” Strom said. “She really empowered me to share my experiences and expertise.” 

During the three-week trip, Mahon and Strom assisted students with engagement in Spain’s business culture and guided students to various sites throughout the country.  

“It was an incredible experience,” Strom said. “Being able to leverage my previous career in international development to teach alongside Nancy has impacted me personally and professionally.” 

From the classroom to colleagues 

Strom said she’s grateful for their professional relationship and partnership through Smeal.  

“One thing that I really appreciate is that Dr. Mahon is a mentor who looks at you and your experience and treats it as valuable to the coursework and information,” Strom said. “She holds me accountable to a high caliber of professional excellence, which has allowed me to grow.”

Mahon shared similar gratitude and appreciation for Strom and how their relationship grew through the Smeal MBA program.  

“The best kind of mentor relationships are where people see each other as a colleague,” Mahon said. “I think that part of the opportunity that Kärin and I have enjoyed is the opportunity to do things outside of the classroom together.”  

As colleagues, the two regularly catch up over coffee and share both personal and professional career plans.

Mahon emphasized how mentorships are not unusual at Smeal and encouraged students to reach out to their professors.

“Our faculty are genuinely interested in our students, and we look for opportunities to interact beyond the classroom,” Mahon said. “You never know what opportunities may emerge from conversation.”

Strom will graduate this spring before joining Dell as a senior adviser of strategic business development.

As she prepares to enter the technology industry, Strom said her mentorship with Mahon has been valuable as a fellow woman working in a predominantly male field.

“She can relate to my experience from that unique perspective,” Strom said. Working with and learning from Nancy has inspired me to embrace my natural strengths as I navigate a new career path in tech.”