MBA Mama Spotlight: Stephanie Farabaugh of Wharton (part 1)
Stephanie Farabaugh graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2009 with a degree in Finance and Psychology. She began her professional career as an investment analyst with Notre Dame’s Endowment for two years before joining Goldman Sachs, where she served as a Financial Investment Professional within the firm’s Investment Management Division. In 2013, Stephanie married her husband Ray. Together, they began married life working in rural Ghana for six months with a for-profit social enterprise focused on improving food sustainability in West Africa and enhancing the lives of smallholder farmers.
Currently, Stephanie and her husband are both second year students at Wharton. They are expecting a baby boy this month (aka — any day now)! Upon graduation, Stephanie will be working in healthcare for AbbVie, a biopharmaceutical company based in North Chicago, within their Commercial Leadership Program.
Stephanie is about to officially become an MBA Mama, and she represents a small but mighty contingent of women who are opting to deliberately get pregnant during business school.
As I’ve built mbamama.com, I’ve spoken to several women who are considering a b-school pregnancy. Many of them try to time their delivery date for Winter Break. In terms of the timing, Stephanie nailed it! Talk about having it all.
- Amazingly supportive husband (at the same business school)— check!
- MBA from Wharton — check!
- Dream job — check!
- Baby — checkmate!
I’ll publish my interview with Stephanie this weekend (mainly because I’m in final exam/recruiting chaos and need time to transcribe the interview recording). In Part 2, Stephanie answers my questions about her decision to have a baby during business school, challenges she faced this semester, interning while pregnant, and her maternity leave plan for the Spring 2016 semester. Stay tuned!
