I grew up in Calcutta, India -- lively, warm, argumentative people whose passionate debates leave nothing untouched.

I feel like the hard part is deciding whether or not you want to do a PhD, because it’s a decision that shouldn’t be entered into lightly. You’re taking five or six years of your life and just focusing on one thing, and at depth. But making the choice to come to Michigan Ross? Now that’s easy.

I was always very passionate about marketing. Even as I was working as a software engineer and technical team lead at Intel in Israel, I found myself always asking questions about marketing strategy–...