My First Year as an Online MBA Student
Olena Reid
Leading teams to implement innovative products | Sr. Technical Product Manager
One year, six classes, a residency, dozens of individual and group assignments, and the most importantly, a better understanding of myself.
When I started the Online MBA program at the College of William and Mary in August 2015, I was living in Virginia and had a part-time position at a military museum where I created social media content and did market research. While having this advantage of living so close to the campus, I attended a lot of student happenings – the Homecoming, MBA networking events – where I was able to meet with professors and other students, and form personal connections.
In July 2016, my husband and I moved to Tacoma, Washington where I got an internship with the Port of Tacoma. The department I work in – Commercial – is responsible for business development and marketing, and my role is to prepare market and customer research. When I started working at the Port, I had a Business Analytics class, and right away I saw an opportunity to apply my new skills at my work. I really enjoy what I do, and I have a better understanding of my capabilities and value that I can bring to a company. By applying my MBA skills every day, I learn even more from the program.
The online MBA program gave me freedom of relocation without a fear of losing connection. It is a doable task from almost any spot in the U.S. For example, while we were driving from Virginia to Washington, I was able to connect to the Internet and do my assignments from different states, hotels, and even just from a passenger seat in a car.
The program gave me a more complex understanding of business and economy in general. Specifically, an assignment that all students work on through all their classes, a Wicked Problem, has been adding tremendous value to my appreciation of how a single project touches a lot of areas of business. And, for managers (and more importantly, leaders), this is a crucial skill to have.
My first year was great, I plan to enjoy my second one as well. I did not have a resolution for the first half of the program, but my resolution for the second half is to build my portfolio, grow my network, and find a position with an organization that values continuous growth and innovation.
What is your resolution for the second year of your MBA program?
#WMOnlineMBA #WMMBA
Image source: https://f.tqn.com/y/businessmajors/1/S/Y/0/-/-/MBA-program.jpg
Finance Executive
8 å¹´Olena, this is terrific!
Vice President, Transit and Rail at WSP USA
8 å¹´Olena thanks for the insightful post on your MBA experiences. My experience with the W&M MBA has been similarly very positive and impactful on my career so far too. I am glad you are enjoying the journey as much as I am. Best of Luck in Washington!