Darby Nicole Mishra, from Macon, GA, never imagined herself attending college – or seeking an MBA – outside her home state. “I hadn’t heard of many colleges outside of Georgia, and the ones I had heard of (the Ivy League schools) didn’t seem financially feasible for my family,” she shared. She learned about QuestBridge through her high school Spanish teacher, Sra. Wright. QuestBridge allowed her to “learn a great deal about colleges across the country, which was valuable,” she said. 

Through QuestBridge, Darby received support that helped her in the college application process: “The supplementary QuestBridge questions allowed me to showcase much more of my personality and spirit than I could have otherwise shown through the standard application questions. And I found the application fee waivers to be absolutely invaluable.” 

When Darby found out she had been matched to Yale University with a full four-year scholarship through the National College Match, she was shocked: “I was fairly confident that I would get in somewhere, but when the email said I had been admitted to Yale, I thought I must be dreaming,” she recalled. Running to the bottom of the stairs, she shouted to her mother, “I got in – to YALE!” 

Darby graduated from Yale in 2018 with a major in the History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health. While she greatly enjoyed her studies, she realized by her fourth year of college that she wanted to explore different professional opportunities outside her academic field. Ahead of graduating, she accepted a role at Walmart eCommerce as a product category specialist, where she was excited to connect with a company she had shopped with in her childhood. As she advanced in her career, she was able to marry her two passions of data analysis and marketing in roles like Forecasting Analyst, Product Manager, and E-Commerce Content Marketing Lead. With support from her family and feedback from colleagues, she felt encouraged to hone her skills toward a career she truly loved and began to prepare to apply to business school. This led her to pursue an MBA through the QuestBridge Graduate School Match: MBA. 

“QuestBridge was the perfect opportunity to do that [pursue an MBA] while minimizing the financial risk to my family,” Darby shared. The application process provided her with waived fees, opportunities to connect with other low-income and first-generation students, and early consideration for admission during the Round 1 cycle. Through QuestBridge, she was matched to the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where she received a full-tuition scholarship to attend their full-time, two-year MBA program. 

Transformative experiences marked Darby's MBA journey. “My most impactful class at Booth has been ‘Lab in Developing New Products and Services,’” she said. “It helped me learn how product managers identify, ideate on, and begin to solve problems that are the most important to their customers.” The “Random Walk” trip before school started was another highlight. Traveling to Argentina, she not only experienced the culture and cuisine of South America but also formed close friendships that have defined her Booth experience.

Darby also had the opportunity to intern with Nike, which gave her a unique insight into a company she had long engaged with as a customer. "It was very cool to explore a new part of the country, in Portland, OR, and get a peek at the inner workings of a company," she reflected.

Looking ahead, Darby hopes to return to the tech industry as a product manager and eventually become a VP or Director of Product. She sees this role as an opportunity to give back and support the growth and development of others early in their careers. “I have never had the opportunity to manage other people directly, and I would savor that opportunity to pay it forward,” she shared.

For other QuestBridge Alumni considering an MBA, Darby offered this advice: “Know how much stress you can take on, practice mindfulness to prevent becoming overwhelmed, and maintain your relationships outside of the MBA class.” She emphasized the importance of being “truly yourself” throughout her QuestBridge journey. “Your experiences make you unique everywhere, but particularly in halls of privilege,” she said. “Your story is worth telling, and it is most certainly worth hearing.”