At Forté Diversity Day, Nicole Conforti Made International Connections

On Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021, Nicole Conforti logged in for the first-ever Forté Diversity Day from her home in Argentina. Nicole was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan while her father was pursuing his MBA at the University of Michigan (Ross School of Business), and she has always been interested in earning an MBA of her own.

Growing up in Argentina, she heard stories about her father’s MBA experiences. Now, with Forté’s help, she is preparing for her own MBA journey. Nicole says, “Here in Argentina, we live in a difficult environment economically. I really want to move to the U.S. to study for an MBA and have work experience there.”

As women, it’s sometimes hard to get top management positions, and I believe the MBA will give me the opportunity to strengthen my resume and my background in order to accelerate my career.

About two years ago, Nicole started looking at business schools and came across Forté’s website. She’s currently in the process of applying for MBA programs, and when she heard about Forté Diversity Day, she registered in the hopes of growing her MBA network. The free online event, designed specifically for women who identify as African American, Black, Hispanic, Latinx, and/or Native American, is part of Forté’s efforts to amplify underrepresented voices in business.

Nicole studied marketing as an undergrad and has more than seven years of work experience in the marketing field. Her current role is B2C Regional Marketing Manager for Navent, the leading online classifieds company for real estate and jobs in Latin America. She sees business school as a way to expand her expertise in marketing and demonstrate her leadership skills, and dreams of one day becoming CEO of a Fortune 500 company. She says, “As women, it’s sometimes hard to get top management positions, and I believe the MBA will give me the opportunity to strengthen my resume and my background in order to accelerate my career.”

Preparing Women to Take on Leadership Roles

At Diversity Day, successful MBA alumni from Forté partner b-schools discussed their experiences and shared advice. “It’s a great space for young women to be inspired by others that made the journey before us. They already broke some barriers, and that helps other women to achieve even more,” Nicole says, “Women gain confidence through others’ stories — ‘She did it, I can do it. She did this, I can do that.’” She liked hearing from Kimberly Young, Vice President, Bank of America about how the MBA helped her get out of her comfort zone and advance into that position. She also appreciated Kimberly’s suggestion to focus on finding balance, because “your career is not your life.”

Women gain confidence through others’ stories — ‘She did it, I can do it. She did this, I can do that.’

In a roundtable session on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, representatives from Forté partner schools discussed their work to build more equitable and inclusive campus communities. As she prepares to enter business school, Nicole says, “I believe it’s going to be a journey with a lot of new connections from around the world, because most universities are trying to get more international students to be more inclusive or have more diversity.”

During the interactive “Coffee Break & Networking” section of the event, attendees met face-to-face in short, one-on-one video chats. Nicole spoke with several women from other countries, including Italy and South Africa, and later connected with them on LinkedIn.

She plans to attend more Forté events in the future, and says, “I’m a fan of Forté. I really believe in the power of women.”

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