Meet Our Alumni

Shironda White is dedicated to tackling the higher education funding crisis. With a 20-year career spanning philanthropy, financial services, and higher education management, she’s always worked as a relationship builder. Over her career, she’s helped make sure millions of dollars in education grant funding and scholarships made it into the hands of deserving students.

“If you’re interested in working in or studying education, entrepreneurship, social impact, or philanthropy, there’s no better place to be than Boston,” says Shironda. “And after researching and visiting Boston-area schools, I found that Questrom was the best fit for me— academically, professionally, and personally.”

When she came to Questrom, Shironda thought she had her path all figured out. First, she’d earn an MBA with a focus in Strategy & Innovation, then she’d go into social impact consulting for a few years, and after that, she’d become a social entrepreneur.

“I pretty much had everything planned out,” she says, “including the consulting firm I wanted to work for and the internship I wanted.”

But after an amazing internship with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Shironda came back to Boston with a new plan. Skip social impact consulting and go straight into social entrepreneurship.

“With Innovate@BU, BU’s Innovation Center, there were so many opportunities that I might not have had if I waited several years and pursued consulting first,” Shironda says. So, she got busy right away.

The first semester of her second year, she enrolled in the Starting New Ventures class, participated in the BU New Venture Competition and BU Summer Accelerator, and her startup, CauseEDU, took off from there.

“It’s been an amazing experience, but one I couldn’t have anticipated when I first decided to pursue an MBA,” she says. “The Questrom MBA prepared me to pursue my dream sooner than I expected.”

Shironda is not only founder and CEO of CauseEDU, a platform working to democratize the college funding process, but she’s also Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Quin, and co-owner of Cupcake Therapy, a nut-free, allergy-friendly cupcake company.

“I’m where I wanted to be sooner than I expected, all thanks to the MBA curriculum and other opportunities, like the case competitions, pitch competitions, global field seminars, and Innovate@BU. And of course, the support of the Questrom faculty, administration, and my classmates.” The overall experience has been phenomenal.”