“Meet 220” is a series of posts featuring staff of the Smeal Professional Graduate Programs. “220” refers to the suite of offices within the Business Building where the team is housed.  

Mike Waldhier, Director of Admissions, Professional Graduate Programs

What’s your role with the Smeal PGP office?

I’m the Director of Resident Graduate Admissions, and I lead the team that manages recruiting, marketing, and admission efforts for our full-time two-year MBA program, and our one-year masters programs on campus.

What did you do prior to coming to Smeal?

Prior to Smeal, I was a Principal Consultant with Digital Tempus, a management and strategy consultancy based in the Washington D.C. metro area. In that role, I ran change management, process improvement, and data analytics projects for a wide range of companies and public organizations, all over the world.

What’s your favorite thing about your role?

As an alumni of the Penn State Smeal MBA Program myself, I truly love getting to know the incoming students and spending time with them each year, helping them navigate their career path, land great jobs, and ultimately become part of the extended Smeal MBA family.

What’s the most interesting thing about you that we wouldn’t learn from your resume alone?

Since high school, I’ve had a passion for acting and theater, so I’ve been performing on stage and film in various roles for over 30 years. One of the best things about the hobby is that so many acting skills are transferable to the workplace, both in consulting and admissions.

If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not, living or dead, real or fictional, with whom would it be and why?

Tony Stark from the Avengers. Because, Iron Man suit.