Magaly Urban, MBA ’26, Master of Perseverance

When Magaly Urban, MBA ’26, started her coursework at Saint Joseph’s University, she was prepared for a challenge. Already a full-time employee and a mother of three, adding “student” back into the mix would surely have its ups and downs.

“My parents and my aunt and grandmother who helped raise me are all immigrants from Peru, and they all had the same outlook: If we want to do better in our lives, we have to just go for it,” Urban says. “They didn’t wait for the right moment. They assessed what was going to make our future better and took those opportunities.” 

What Urban didn’t expect was an additional obstacle thrown her way — the discovery of multiple unruptured brain aneurysms shortly after starting her MBA. This meant two brain surgeries in the two and a half years it took her to complete her degree. 

“I planned my first surgery for the winter break of my first year, and the second one last March during spring break,” Urban says. 

For inspiration, she turned to her husband, Michael Urban, MS ’25, who was simultaneously completing his master’s in criminal justice. 

“I was just surrounded by these great people who weren’t waiting to make their lives happen,” she says. “So why should I wait, even with this new obstacle in front of me? If my medical team is saying I can do it and it’s within the schedule, why not?” 

She also relied on the community she built amongst her MBA classmates. 

“Everyone in the program was committed to helping each other, and if there were days where I couldn’t quite follow along because my post-surgery brain fog was so heavy, I never felt timid reaching out to classmates for notes or extra help understanding,” Urban says. “Even though we weren’t physically together in our virtual program, we were all there for each other.” 

Urban addressed her fellow degree recipients as the Commencement speaker at her master’s ceremony in May, reminding audience members that while life can be unpredictable, an SJU education has prepared them to adapt to unexpected circumstances.

“Markets will shift, careers will evolve and personal challenges appear without warning, but if this Jesuit education has taught us anything, it is that character outlasts circumstance. We have learned to pause and reflect before reacting and to pursue success with purpose,” Magaly said in her remarks.

Post-graduation, Urban is continuing in her role as a client experience manager and marketing specialist at ZRG, the world’s fast-growing talent advisory firm. There, she supports company leadership in multiple departments, working to match candidates with C-level job openings. 

“I did a lot of on the job learning, but I wanted a program that would make me aware of the language that everyone was speaking in the business world,” Urban says. “I’ve already seen in myself a lot more confidence being able to speak to C-level clients, assessing the type of services we have for them, connecting those dots more quickly, and being able to articulate exactly what they need to our internal stakeholders.” 

Urban honed this skill in particular in her capstone course, during which she and her classmates presented ideas to instructor Jeff P. Gossner, an adjunct professor of management, who acted as a potential investor. 

“That’s something I would actually be facing at work, when someone comes to me and says they need to place a candidate, but the candidate needs to bring them value and meet certain criteria,” Urban explains. “This course with Professor Gossner really sealed the deal and connected everything together that we learned in the MBA.”