Finding balance as a student-athlete at the Carlson School

For Emma Carpenter, ’24 MKTG, life at the Carlson School and on the UMN women’s golf team was about finding balance while working toward her goals.

Carpenter recently graduated from the Master of Marketing program at the Carlson School, completing her fifth year at the University of Minnesota and her fourth year on the golf team. Before pursuing her master’s, she earned a bachelor’s degree at the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication in the College of Liberal Arts.

With her sights set on a career in sports broadcasting, Carpenter expects that her experience being student-athlete while studying business at the Carlson School will help prepare her for her future.

“Carlson is so resourceful. Anything that you could ever need is right at your fingertips,” she says. “There’s always an opportunity to network, to sign up, to be a part of something. [Being a student here] can be very difficult. It can be rigorous. But everything that’s offered is designed to help you get to where you need to be.”

In the marketing program, Carpenter learned about building a personal brand. “That’s been really important for me in my career—the ability to market myself,” she says.

Balancing the responsibilities of being a golfer and a master’s student was challenging, Carpenter says. But the support she received from her teammates, classmates, and professors helped her stay focused and motivated.

“Carlson is a community. It’s a family. When I walk in through the doors every single day, I see friends gathered together. I see students talking to professors,” she says. “But what’s also great about Carlson is that it’s a special mix between being warm and welcoming, and also being very professional.”