A Change of Course: Kristin Scholer

by Valerie Figueroa

T exas State University's McCoy College of Business is a vibrant mosaic shaped by its students, faculty, alumni, and staff. Kristin Scholer, a 2005 MBA alumna and active member of the college, is a vital and influential piece that makes up its dynamic design.

When Scholer first arrived at Texas State, she had no idea she'd be leading a data science team at one of the top tech companies in the country. She didn't know her path would lead to mentoring students at her alma mater or endowing scholarships to support future Bobcats. Her original plan had nothing to do with analytics or business in general.

She was going to be an interior designer.

"It's just a great example of how you never know where life is going to lead you," she says.

Scholer grew up in Houston and originally planned to attend Texas A&M University in College Station. An administrative error on her application led to her receiving an acceptance letter to Texas A&M-Galveston instead. This setback caused her to be waitlisted at her original choice and ultimately led her to Texas State.

"Texas State was my second choice, and it was the best decision that I ever made," she says.

At the university, Scholer found a community of lifelong friends. She formed lasting friendships in the dorms and her sorority, Delta Gamma. She also met her future husband, Zach Howard, also a Bobcat, during a mixer with her sorority and his fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi. While pursuing her degree in interior design, a pivotal internship changed everything.

“I did an internship at a residential design studio, and I really didn't like it,” she says. "The woman who I did the internship with gave me access to how she ran her business. That I found really interesting. I took a step back, panicked for a little bit that I just spent the past three years working towards this degree, I didn't think I wanted to do."

After completing her undergraduate degree, Scholer stayed at Texas State to pursue her MBA.

"It just made me a lot more confident in what I could accomplish, and I think that was crucial to me in the beginning years of my career," she says. “That helped in that trajectory that eventually took me into a leadership role in my career.”

When Scholer graduated in 2005, data science was still a relatively new field. As more companies began implementing analytics-driven strategies, Scholer discovered a new interest at her first job in Zales' corporate e-commerce division.

"They recently invested in this software tool that tracked how web users were interacting with their site,” she says. “They saw the value in [analytics], but no one really knew how to use it. So they were like, 'We have this new MBA kid that we just hired. Let's let her figure it out.' And I loved it. I just immediately took to it."

From that point, Scholer knew what she wanted to do. She eventually transitioned into an analytics role at a small advertising agency. From there, she spent the next 15 years using data and analytics to service clients across many business sectors. By late 2023, Scholer was ready for a change. She contacted a longtime mentor she worked with at the advertising agency, who ended up recruiting her to Intuit.

Now, Scholer leads a data science team that supports Intuit's professional tax products and helps CPA firms and accounting businesses manage their operations.

Giving Back, Building Forward

Scholer's relationship with Texas State didn't end when she graduated. Over the years, she and Howard, now an emeritus member of Texas State's Development Foundation Board and a member of several other university boards, steadily increased their philanthropic commitment to the university. What started with small scholarships to both McCoy College and the university's geography department eventually became the Kristin Scholer and Zachery Howard Marketing Analytics Scholarship endowment, established in 2022 for $25,000. This endowment will be matched by the McCoy College Foundation once it is fully endowed.

For Scholer, giving back was never a question of if, but when. Both she and Howard relied on grants and scholarships to get through school. Now, their focus is on helping students who are facing the same uncertainties they did.

"It's just all about paying it forward," she says. "My husband and I didn't come from families that had saved up college funds. I know how they feel, I know how it can be scary wondering, 'where am I going to get the money to pay for the next semester.'"

She continued: "Education, it's empowering. It frees you to have control over your own life and make your own decisions. One thing that I always say is that your college degree is the one thing that, once you have it, no one can ever take it away from you. You can lose your house. You can lose your spouse, your job, or your money. But that degree you will have for the rest of your life. And it's the most important investment that you can make in yourself. I just wanted to help other students continue to experience that."

Today, Scholer is an active member of the McCoy College Dean's Leadership Council and will be taking over as its chair next fall. Despite living in Dallas, both Scholer and Howard often visit the university for campus events, including Business Leadership Week, while also supporting college initiatives such as the Student Success Center to strengthen the student experience within the college.

Advising the Next Generation

Reflecting on her own journey, Scholer wishes she had pushed herself further in those early years and encourages students to stay open to opportunities, even those that seem to be too challenging and out of their comfort zone. After all, it was an unexpected detour from College Station, an internship that didn't quite fit, and a software program no one else knew how to use that led Scholer to where she is today.

“I think that doing the hard things, the things you don't think you're capable of, once you accomplish it, it really surprises you what you can actually do.”

She says she sees a shift in the university's culture, giving her even more hope for future Bobcats. From President Kelly Damphousse's visible, student-first direction to enhanced mentorship opportunities at McCoy College, she believes the university is more connected to its students than ever before.

"I think it just brings us the sense of togetherness,” she says. “We want to be stepping in and helping [students] through this journey. We're all in this together and the students’ success is the university's success.” ✯