Seizing the Opportunity feat. Brandy Hays Morrison ‘05

Growing up in New York City, Brandy Hays Morrison (‘05) had never heard of Rice Business School. But in the mid 90s, when there was a push for more women and minorities to enter the field of engineering, someone told Brandy she should check it out, and it was off to Houston she went. In her words, Brandy says she “took a leap of faith, and it all worked out.”

Brandy is actually a two-time Owl, earning her undergraduate degree from Rice in 2000, double majoring in computer engineering and managerial studies, and returning to earn her MBA from Rice Business in 2005. She has since served on the Board of Directors for multiple entities, including the Association of Rice University Black Alumni (ARUBA) and the Posse Foundation, a non-profit whose mission is to bring more diversity and leadership to college campuses.

In her professional role, Brandy is currently the Vice President of Strategic Growth for Pluribus Digital, a technology firm based in Washington, D.C., where she leads business development efforts in the federal government contracting space.

Brandy sits down with host Christine Dobbyn to chat about her years at Rice, learning to advocate for herself, starting the Black Business Student Assocation at the Jones School, and the importance of being knowledgeable in global customs.

Episode Quotes:

Changes Brandy has seen in engineering over the course of her career

13:52 - So I've gone from being the only minority female in a room to now coming across other minority females. I say for women, there have been a lot more strides in terms of making sure that the pipeline is strengthened. And what I mean by that, is that there are more little girls who can see themselves as engineers. There are more little girls who can see themselves as software developers.

How The Jones School got Brandy out of her shell

03:25 - [Rice MBA] really transformed me from someone who was very much an introverted technical software engineer to someone who was more comfortable speaking in public and taking a leadership role and not being afraid to speak up.

How the Rice Alumni network kept Brandy going

19:43 - So I came from a New York city public school. And while I had phenomenal grades, I was very involved in school, it did not prepare me for the rigors of Rice undergrad. And so I struggled a bit. And so the biggest push that I needed was to keep going. And I mentioned the rice alum by the name of Russell Ross. He was absolutely someone who had a similar path as me as a student. And so being able to meet with an alum who had a similar story, I'm thinking, okay, I can do this too. 

Show Links:

Episode Transcript

Guest Profile:

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Listen to The Sky Is Not the Limit feat. Rawand Rasheed here: https://business.rice.edu/owlhaveyouknow/season-4-episode-1