TIM
masters of business administration '22 (outstanding grad)

WHY WEBER STATE?

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Education and learning has always been important to me, my family and in my career. After finishing my undergraduate degree in business, my career was off to a great start and I began preparing for a masters degree. The great recession happened, my family and my job responsibilities grew and it seemed like I had little time for anything else. My dreams of getting an MBA slowly faded away. 

Fast forward 10 years, I'm married, have 3 amazing kids and on a great career path. I was taking every opportunity I had to learn and grow, but still felt like there was more I could do to distinguish myself in my career. An MBA was more of a pipe dream still because of what I thought would be barriers (age, time, cost, etc..). With the encouragement and support from my wife and family, I decided now was the time and began researching MBA schools that would fit our lifestyle.

 I looked at a wide swath of graduate schools, but was especially interested in local schools because of where I worked and lived. University of Utah (my alma mater), BYU, UVU, USU, and Weber State were on the top of my list. Flexible classes/schedule, ability to self-pace, quality professors, and overall return on investment were my biggest deciding factors. 

After applying and getting acceptance letters from these schools, I chose Weber because it checked all the right boxes. But what really made the difference was the recruitment adviser, Andrew Wright. He was by far the most engaged and interested in me as a person than any other school was. Through my experiences with him, I knew that Weber State's culture and MBA program were the right fit for me.  

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WHY MBA?

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I am fascinated with business strategy and love interacting with people - an MBA helped me to get a more well rounded business acumen and knowledge base. It also gave me a better understanding of how my company operated and helped give me insights in discovering new ways to improve our competitiveness in the market. 

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INCREDIBLE ACCESS

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Goddard's MBA program flexibility and pacing were a great fit for me. I was especially grateful for that when the pandemic hit and I was needing to focus more time on work in those turbulent times. I was able to take a brief pause on classes, stabilize things at work, and picked things right back up.   

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FACULTY IMPACT

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Dr. Jennifer Anderson taught me to "Wherever you are: Lean Hard" - when you're at school learn hard in to school, when you're at home learn hard in to home, when you are at work learn hard in to work. 

Dr. Michael Stevens taught me that to grow in your own career successfully,  you must effectively build trust and help others grow - when the tide rises in the harbor, all ships rise. 

Andrew Wright was an excellent recruiter, he showed me the strength of Weber's student culture and convinced me of the value I would get from Weber State's MBA program. 

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ADVICE

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There are fewer better ways to become a true jack of all trades and distinguish yourself in your career than with a business degree (baccalaureate or masters). I went in to getting an MBA looking to set myself apart. I was surprised by how much it taught me and put me ahead, success has naturally happened because of what I've learned.

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WHAT ARE YOUR CAREER ASPIRATIONS?

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I'm currently a Sr. Director over Financial Operations at CHG Healthcare, a medical staffing company based in Utah. I promoted to this position while in school, but attribute my success, in part, to the things I learned while in graduate school. Getting an MBA has changed my perspective significantly and continues to help me in my career. It has helped me become a more well rounded individual and better business leader. 

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