Kate Broderick

Kate Broderick is a manager in healthcare advisory for Citrin Cooperman, a top-25 full-service assurance, tax, and advisory firm. But before she came to Questrom, business school was not an obvious destination for this liberal arts grad.

As a Boston College undergraduate English major, Kate interned with the Head of the Charles Regatta and then stayed on, ultimately serving as director of operations for the annual, world-class rowing competition. “I loved being in a mission-driven organization, but it involved a lot of data analytics and tech infrastructure decisions and I had no background in either,” recalls Kate. “I decided to go back to school to build up hard skills and figure out what I wanted to do next.”

At Questrom, Kate quickly found her path. “I took courses on data mining—analyzing data, how to manipulate it, how to present it, to speak about it. It was a tremendous learning experience,” says Kate.

To build a strong technical and management foundation, Kate enrolled in the dual-degree MBA and Master’s in Information Systems program (now Health Sector MBA+ MSDT), developing skills in analysis, design, IT management, and strategy. Almost by chance, she discovered the Health Sector program. “I registered late, and the introductory health sector course was one of the only classes still available. I went to the first class not knowing if I would stick with it, but it was taught by Ned Rimer, and he was so captivating, and the problems we discussed were really compelling. It seemed like a perfect fit with my desire to work in a mission-driven field, and to hone my analytical skills.”

An internship with Ochsner Health System in New Orleans clinched Kate’s interest in the health sector. “The first-hand experience really cemented my interest and passion for healthcare,” says Kate, who accepted a post-graduate fellowship with the company. “I got to do a rotation program during my internship that included exposure to the company’s clinically integrated network, internal innovation group, and their C-suite. During my post-grad fellowship, I continued working with the C-suite and innovation group and I was given a really interesting project related to provider well-being.”

“I never expected to end up working in healthcare. I never expected to excel in the courses that I excelled at—finance and economics. I was an English major. I was very intimidated by the quantitative subject matter going into the MBA/MSIS program, but I ended up enjoying it, and it’s a big part of my career today. At Questrom, I was surrounded by mentors, both among the faculty and in my cohort, who helped me navigate to a career in the health sector. Going to Questrom was a game changer for me.”

“I TOOK COURSES ON DATA MINING—ANALYZING DATA, HOW TO MANIPULATE IT, HOW TO PRESENT IT, TO SPEAK ABOUT IT. IT WAS A TREMENDOUS LEARNING EXPERIENCE.”

– Kate Broderick