By the time Taylor Moss finished his bachelor's degree in economics, he was sure of only one thing.

I didn’t want to wake up 60 years from now having worked the traditional, 9-to-5 grind and regret not trying anything different.”

Taylor had a love of different cultures and felt that if he didn’t explore it at that point in his life, he never would. So he took the international plunge, leading education and community-based projects in Jamaica for two years. It only strengthened his appetite for a life abroad.

“All of a sudden the IMBA program made perfect sense,” he says. “Even though I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to specialize in, I knew I could further my economics degree and turn this passion for multicultural experiences into a real career.”

A short time into the program, Taylor found his niche in operations management, and after graduation began putting it to work for UnitedHealth Group. Four months later, he became the chief of staff for the CEO of UnitedHealthcare Global, a Brazilian arm of the company serving four million people in more than 126 countries.

Ryan’s childhood unfolded in a rural Utah community — the kind where the cows outnumber the people. A few months after high school graduation, he left Utah for a much-busier and bustling South Korea where he spent two years as a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints missionary crisscrossing the country.

That international experience was eye opening. Later it inspired him to pursue his International MBA at the Darla Moore School of Business where he’d undertake an immersion in China.

The MBA was an opportunity to learn strategic thinking, operations, marketing and all the different aspects of business an effective leader needs to understand,” he says. “That my wife and newborn child could join me and share that experience was profound.”

With graduation on the horizon, Ryan learned of a leadership development program with Bank of America from a senior cohort. By the time he donned his cap and gown, he was accepted into the program and still works for the bank today, mitigating the global complexities of information security governance.

Business school gave me direction,” says Ryan. “I didn’t really have a career before my MBA. I had jobs.”

In 2011, Kate Williams was three years into a financial advising career. The problem: her heart wasn’t.

I just didn't have a passion for it,” she says.

Fortunately, a stint in the Peace Corps microfinancing female entrepreneurs offered the spark she’d been missing. And it inspired her to get serious about honing her business acumen to help others in the developing world.

Earning an MBA with a focus on corporate social responsibility, she did just that. Kate was recruited by a tech startup after graduation and gained a front row view of how global retailers like Gap and Nike handle sourcing. It was a unique perspective she parlayed into her current role as impact manager at Fair Trade USA.

Today Kate works with the very same Nicaraguan community where she lived during her Peace Corps days. Certifying that the sugar cane used in their rum distillery is fair trade, she’s impacting countless lives throughout the region.

When Kristen Dozier began to consider an MBA, she’d just reached the end of a four-year professional volleyball career.

“Spain. Puerto Rico. Israel. Germany. Poland. I lived and played all over,” she says. “I was ready to come home and figure out what my next chapter would be.”

For a time, it seemed like that future lay with the athletic training business she’d founded in her hometown of Washington, D.C.

Being an entrepreneur was great. And, honestly, I initially pursued the masters as a way of taking that business to the next level.”

Then Kristen got a taste of what corporate consulting was all about and everything changed. While interning with a hedge fund her first year in the program, she worked closely with its emerging markets team and discovered how much she loved this new focus area.

“It was so completely different, but so exciting.”

Kristen used the momentum of the internship and her immersion experience in Mexico to secure a consulting job in New York the fall before graduation.

“It was fantastic. A huge relief to be able to have a great position locked down and be excited about where I was heading after graduation.”