News

Jakov completed his undergraduate degree in Sociology and the undergraduate certificate in Technology Management at UCSB before joining the MTM graduate program. Learn more about hist story in his profile!

Killian arrived to UCSB from London, England, after completing his bachelor’s degree in Economics. When asked about why he wanted to join MTM, he stated, "I wanted to join MTM because it’s UCSB’s graduate business degree. That was what originally attracted me to MTM. When I started doing some more digging, I thought Technology Management would be a really relevant skill set to add to my resume and professional development." Learn more about his story in his profile!

Before joining the MTM program, Valeria worked in finance, tech, and startup environments across Europe and North America, and she received her Bachelor of Economics and Management from McGill University. Check out more about her story in her profile!

Michael studied chemistry and dance at UC Berkeley before joining the MTM program. He is currently a Director in Engineering Project Management at Apeel.The following comments are excerpted from an interview that took place in Fall 2023. Read more to check it out!

Meet Jessica Carpenter! Jessica completed her undergraduate degree in English and Spanish at UCSB before joining the MTM program. After graduating from MTM, Jessica worked as a Product Marketing Manager at Box. She is now a Product Marketing Manager at Google. When asked about the strengths of the MTM program, she said, "I think the fact that you're able to get so much done and cover so much ground in a really short period of time is one of its strengths."

Our department had the recent pleasure of sitting down and chatting with Michael Ziering. He and his wife Diane have been donating to UCSB and our Certificate program for many years. Read his full interview to learn more about his background, what he loves the most about collaborating with Technology Management, his advice for other donors, and more!

Emily is originally from the Bay Area and received a BS in Psychological and Brain Sciences at UCSB prior to beginning the MTM graduate program. Learn more about her story in her profile!

Kenneth Rife is originally from Temecula, CA. After high school, he ventured into entrepreneurship, co-
founding successful valet parking and sports memorabilia companies. When the pandemic disrupted the
status quo, Kenneth seized the opportunity to return to UCSB, earning dual bachelor’s degrees in
Communication and Sociology. Embracing his new journey, he applied to UCSB’s MTM program, inspired by the program’s structure, incredible faculty and staff, and post-graduate opportunities.

Learn more about Kareena Patel, MTM alumna from the Class of 2024! She is from the Bay Area in Northern California and graduated from UCSB with a Bachelor’s in Economics. When asked about why she wanted to join the program, she said that she was looking for a business degree, and that "the closest thing UCSB had was Economics. I then learned about the TMP Certificate Program in the Technology Management department, which allowed me to get a business background during my undergrad degree."

Learn more about Noah Kastenbaum, from the MTM Class of 2022! Noah is originally from Los Angeles. He studied Communication at UCSB, where he also completed the Certificate in Technology Management as an undergraduate. Since completing the MTM graduate program, he has been working at Feedly, an AI cybersecurity startup. The following comments are excerpted from an alumni panel event that took place in April 2024.

Learn more about Natalie Jordan, an MTM student from the Class of 2019. Natalie is originally from New Jersey and has an undergraduate degree from UCSB in political science and history of public policy. She currently works at Motive, an integrated fleet operations platform. When asked how MTM prepared her for her career, she stated, "You're given the right tools to be able to go into any scenario and start to have a process of how to think through problems, communicate with leadership, and have those executive communication skills and basic business acumen."

Learn more about Nupur Koirola, one of our MTM students from the Class of 2024. Nupur is originally from Washington State and completed her undergraduate degree in business management information systems at Western Washington University before joining MTM. When asked why she wanted an MTM grad degree, she answered, "The program’s focus on technology management offered a chance to deepen my technical knowledge while also gaining practical leadership skills."