Kelly Strickland
Kelly Strickland (B.B.A. ’23) started her college career at the University of Kansas, but the student-athlete transferred back home to Atlanta to continue her studies and athletics at Georgia State. Today, the business management grad is a member of an elite group of future leaders learning on the job at Visa in the Visa Leadership Accelerator program.
Interview by William Inman
Why did you choose Georgia State?
I grew up and went to high school in Alpharetta (Ga.) but started my college career at Kansas because I really wanted to play golf at a Power 5 school. After three semesters, though, I felt like it wasn’t the right fit for me. I visited a few other schools, and ultimately chose Georgia State — it was the first college I ever visited, and I had a great relationship with our coach at the time, Jessica Steward. One of the big things that stood out to me about Georgia State was all the connections and career opportunities it provides after graduation.
What were some of your biggest challenges as a student-athlete?
In college — especially as a senior — you juggle applying for jobs and internships and maintaining good grades, and also practicing and performing for your team. And then trying to have somewhat of a social life. Honestly, I think it's helped me handle multiple projects at work because I was so used to having so many different priorities in a day during college.
What are you doing now with your career?
I work for Visa, and I’m in the Visa Leadership Accelerator program. It’s a program for new college graduates designed for what the company calls “high potential individuals.” We’re in the program for two years, and every six months we rotate through a different area of the business. At the end of the two years, we're placed in a full-time role. You do four rotations and then you're placed full time at the end. For example, for my next rotation, I’ll be working with community banks and credit unions and I’m really looking forward to that.
What's a piece of advice you would give to an incoming student at Georgia State?
Utilize all the resources that Georgia State offers — your professors, your peers — especially for those interested in getting jobs in Atlanta. Leverage your network throughout the school and even your virtual network on LinkedIn. I even messaged people on LinkedIn and said, “I'd love to learn about your career journey, how you got here and any advice you have for someone graduating soon.”
What’s your career goal going forward?
To continue working for Visa and pursue a job in the company where I can positively impact the Atlanta community. I'm hoping I can take my rotation and transition it to a full-time role.
