Elizabeth Corneliuson

BA, Economics and Managerial Studies, 2000; MBA, 2004

When Elizabeth Corneliuson started her job at ABC after earning a bachelor’s degree, reviewing the Hollywood trades became as important as reading the Wall Street Journal.

“I worked in the business affairs and legal department at ABC in Los Angeles, negotiating contracts for actors, producers, and directors of prime-time television shows,” she says. “The talk of the office was Hollywood gossip, so we’d skim through the trades every morning to know what was going on.”

As part of her job, Corneliuson attended ABC press parties to meet the prime-time actors up close and personal. “They seem larger than life on screen. So it was fun,” she admits, “to see them in person and go up and start a conversation with someone like Jennifer Garner or Sandra Bullock.”

Corneliuson liked her job, but she always knew she would go back to business school when the timing felt right. “I applied at a few different places,” she says, “but I liked the people at Rice, loved the faculty and new building, and had a great undergrad experience. I figured I would have the same quality experience in grad school, and I was excited about the idea of being back in Houston.”

It was the academics and swim team that originally brought Corneliuson, a California native, to Houston and Rice. “My parents had heard about Rice’s great academic program. And I’m a swimmer and wanted a college with a strong swim team,” she says. “When I came on a recruiting trip, I had a very comfortable feeling about the people and the campus. I liked the smallness and the traditions. I didn’t know anyone in Houston, but I just had the sense that I would fit.”

Now armed with an MBA, Corneliuson is back in Los Angeles in a corporate finance position at Nissan’s North American headquarters. “There are a lot of benefits to this job,” she claims. “It’s a big global company with many areas to be exposed to and a lot of different places to go. One of my goals is to get into a management position, and I should have that opportunity here.”

As for giving up the benefit of hobnobbing at Hollywood press parties, “That’s not a problem,” she says. “My friend still works for ABC!”