Shining the Spotlight on Women Who Are Redefining Success on Their Own Terms
International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated every year on March 8th. This global movement is dedicated to honoring the achievements of women worldwide. The day also serves as a powerful call to action for advancing gender equality. It aims to raise awareness about the work still to be done to achieve gender parity in work and education. International Women’s Day is not a new initiative. Beginning in 1911, it has a long and complex history and has been active for over a century. And 2026 marks an important milestone, as IWD celebrates its 115th anniversary.
Each year, a different theme is highlighted. This year’s theme is “Give to Gain”. The theme aims to encourage collaboration, generosity, reciprocity, and support for women’s rights. In line with this, MASTERGRADSCHOOLS is giving the stage to 8 of our top success stories that highlight incredible women. The hope is that readers will gain newfound inspiration, hope, and motivation to tackle their career and study goals.
Eight Inspiring Women Who Embody the Spirit of Give To Gain
To celebrate International Women’s Day this year, we are highlighting some of the most inspiring women we have featured on MASTERGRADSCHOOLS. These women have all pursued master’s degrees, entered into male-dominated industries, landed their dream roles, and given back to their communities.
What unites them? Every single one crossed some type of border to get there. Whether physical, professional, or cultural. These women have given their energy, time, and dedication to their master’s degree journeys and career advancement. And through that, they gained new career milestones, lifelong communities, and impactful achievements.
Discover these inspiring stories and let them motivate you to dream bigger and break glass ceilings in your own life and career.
1. Success Across Borders with Sanjana Nurani
EDHEC Business School: MSc in Marketing Management
EDHEC alumna Sanjana Nurani moved from India to France to pursue her master’s degree. She knew that moving to a new country to study would be difficult. From the language barrier to paperwork to making new friends, she faced many challenges. Yet she knew that EDHEC’s MSc in Marketing Management, specifically the Luxury and Fashion specialization, would help her pursue her passion for luxury and fashion. Now, she speaks fluent French and works as a successful Beauty Social and Consumer Insights Analyst in Paris.
Making an Instant Career Impact With the EDHEC MSc in Marketing Management
EDHEC’s MSc in Marketing Management is a gateway to a successful career in management. The program offers two dynamic specializations, giving you the chance to choose the study path that best fits you. EDHEC alumna Sanjana Nurani explains how the Luxury & Fashion specialization helped her launch her career.
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2. Breaking into Fintech with Minqi Lin
Frankfurt School of Finance and Management: Master in Financial Technology
Minqi Lin, a current Master in Financial Technology student, was awarded the WM Gruppe Women Diversity scholarship at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management in Germany. The scholarship is awarded to outstanding students in the fields of financial technology and data science. With the support of the scholarship, she is reclaiming space in the traditionally male-dominated field of FinTech and working towards stamping out gender bias in digital products.
Frankfurt School’s Scholarships Empowering Female FinTech Talent
At the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, current student Minqi Lin was awarded the WM Gruppe Women Diversity scholarship for financial technology. She shares how the scholarship expands access to FinTech careers for women, highlighting the importance of gender diversity and what makes the FinTech Master a career-ready choice.
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3. Blending Passion and Knowledge like Jocelinne Martinez
TCU Neeley School of Business: MS in Business Analytics
Jocelinne Martinez is a TCU Neeley alumna who is American with Mexican roots. During her time at TCU Neeley School of Business, she was a Community Scholar and a full-scholarship recipient. During her studies, she impressively balanced community service work, her coursework, and working for well-known fashion brands such as Kate Spade.
Beyond that, she represented TCU Neeley at New York Fashion Week and organized two student fashion shows at her school. Not one to shy away from an untraditional path, she blended her BA background in Fashion Merchandising with an MS in Business Analytics. Jocelinne’s story is an inspiring example of how diverse interests and passions can converge into a successful and fulfilling career.
Blending Fashion and Business Analytics at TCU Neeley
Jocelinne Martinez, a TCU Neeley MS Business Analytics student, shares her educational journey from fashion merchandising to data analytics. Discover how hands-on learning and industry connections at TCU Neeley shaped her student experience. Her story is one of blending creativity and the power of data to drive compelling storytelling.
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4. Doing it All with Amina Shahzad
Tepper School of Business, Part-Time Online MSBA
Amina Shazhad is an alumna and former student ambassador of the Master’s of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program at the Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University. Amina is a full-time working professional and a mother of three. She refused to choose between career growth and family. She chose the online, part-time program at Tepper to work around her schedule. It certainly wasn’t easy. However, through dedication, consistency, and building a strong community with her cohort, she was able to succeed and thrive in her program.
She concluded her studies with a meaningful and community-focused capstone project. Her group aimed to find the best tool to enable a security company to help prevent mass shootings in schools. She continues to use her new skills for real-world impact in her career.
Want to Learn How to Make Data-Driven Decisions for Strategic Success?
The Tepper School’s part-time online MSBA pairs data analytics skills with strategic thinking to prepare professionals for success. Recent graduate Amina Shahzad shares how she benefited from that combination as well as the program’s flexibility and community.
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5. Opening Global Doors with Blessing Farounbi
ESMT Berlin: Master in Global Management
Driven by a desire to drive meaningful impact, Blessing Farounbi left her home in Nigeria to pursue ESMT Berlin’s Master of Management (MGM) in Europe. Her master’s degree opened the door to a career opportunity in Washington, D.C. Namely, to work as an Associate Investment Officer at the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The IFC is an influential member of the World Bank Group. In her current role, she helps to drive positive change in developing nations.
Blessing’s powerful story illustrates the value of pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone to achieve your long-term goals and drive change.
A Master’s Journey from Nigeria to the Political Capital of the World
Wondering where an ESMT master’s degree could take you? For Blessing Farounbi, it helped her fulfill a lifelong ambition. Discover how she went from Nigeria to Washington, D.C. via Berlin, landing a role at one of the world’s most influential financial institutions focused on developing emerging countries.
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6. Carving Your Own Path with Linde Wang
ESMT Berlin: Master in Global Management
Originally from Shanghai, China, and having studied in the U.S., Linde Wang grew up between cultures. Having previously worked as a marketing manager at Flixbus, she was ready to elevate her career further. She chose the Master in Global Management (MGM) at ESMT Berlin to do exactly that. During her time there, she was able to fully embrace her identity, find her lifelong community, and take her career in a new direction. Through real-world social impact projects, Linde was able to apply her new consulting skills directly at NGOs.
Her new skills and know-how got her recruited by Accenture at the Digital Future Summit, an annual event organized by a team of ESMT master’s students. She now works as a Design & Digital Products Consultant at Accenture Song.
Top 3 Leadership Lessons From Linde Wang’s Life at ESMT in Berlin
Discover how ESMT Berlin’s Master in Management shaped Linde Wang’s journey from Flixbus to Accenture.
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7. Millie in Paris
Darla Moore School of Business, Master of International Business
Millie Orlando, originally from the U.S., grew up dreaming of France. She was passionate about the French culture and lifestyle. Her goal was always to live in France one day, and she decided to make that a reality. She chose to complete the Master of International Business (MIB) double-degree program. Through the program, she had the opportunity to study at Darla Moore School of Business and ESSEC Business School in Paris. And she made the most of it.
During her time at ESSEC, she secured an internship with the illustrious fashion brand Givenchy. This gave her valuable insights into the world of luxury brands and set a high bar for her future career. These days, she is working as a CRM Manager at Louis Vuitton.
How Millie Achieved Her Dream Job in Luxury Fashion at Givenchy with an MIB Double Degree
Millie Orlando turned her passion for French culture into a successful international career in luxury marketing through the double-degree program at Darla Moore School of Business.
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8. Aiming High with Emma Eberhardt
Lehigh University: MS in Management
Emma Eberhardt is a Behavioral Neuroscience graduate from Lehigh University. During her studies, her degree and lacrosse scholarship were extended by the COVID-19 pandemic for an additional year. Rather than see it as a setback, she used that extra year wisely. She enrolled in Lehigh University’s MS in Management program to gain business acumen to bolster her scientific background. In addition, she impressively ran her own lacrosse coaching business and completed work experience at a lab at Harvard.
Before graduating, she had already secured a consulting role at Axtria, working in the biotech and pharma industry. She now works as a Senior Account Development Representative at Thermo Fisher Scientific in Boston.
Making a Play for Greater Business Acumen at Lehigh University
Discover how neuroscience student Emma Eberhardt gained crucial business acumen at Lehigh University. Learn more about the Master in Management program and how it helped her to secure a role in the biotech industry.
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The Work Is Not Done, but the Future Is Bright
International Women’s Day has been observed for 115 years, yet the work is far from over. In 2026, the message is more urgent than ever. Achieving gender parity in classrooms and boardrooms remains a struggle. But the women featured in this article are a powerful reminder of what becomes possible when education aids in harnessing bold ambition.
Read more inspiring stories from our MASTERGRADSCHOOLS community.
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Top 10 Trailblazing Women in Business And Their Academic Journeys
From Yale to Harvard to Stanford, the academic foundations of today’s most influential women in business reveal how elite education helped shape their revolutionary leadership. Explore how these 10 groundbreaking executives transformed industries while breaking glass ceilings at Fortune 500 companies.
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