Back to School

When I graduated from The University of Texas 6 years ago with a degree in English Literature and another in Linguistics, I honestly never thought I’d have the opportunity to attend graduate school. It seemed so far out of reach, so time consuming, so expensive. I wanted to get out into the working world and get my hands dirty really working. I had only ever had part time/temporary jobs, and I wanted to experience what it meant to work full time and really make a difference in a company. I did just that, and received the added benefit of being a small part of changing the lives of our therapy patients.

I got really lucky with my first job – I started out as a Patient Services Coordinator, and now serve as the Director of Operations, where I’ve had significant exposure to the business world. I was able to discover a real passion for business – something I always assumed I would hate. I was also able to gain a lot of real world experience assisting in running a small start-up type company. I actually get to work directly with the owners of the business, and they actually listen to my advice. In my wildest dreams, I never imagined that I’d be able to do something like this, much less enjoy it. The only problem? My education. My degrees in English and Linguistics have been immeasurably helpful in my communications with patients and team, but they did not provide me with any business expertise whatsoever. I didn’t even ever really take a math class in college (though I took AP Calculus in high-school, when I thought I wanted to be an astrophysicist). With no actual educational background in business, I was sort of hitting a wall. I had the passion and the drive, but not the knowledge. I started reading and studying business in my personal time, but it wasn’t enough to really make an impact on my skills. It was around that time that someone told me about online MBA programs. I knew online degrees were offered, but never thought an MBA would work well in that format. I still researched the option because I couldn’t see myself stopping work completely to attend school. There were so many programs focused on speed – “Finish in one year!” was even the tagline of one of the programs. I understand wanting to finish the degree quickly, but I’d rather sacrifice time in order to get a valuable education. It was around that time that I heard of the Kelley Direct Online MBA. The format is neat – you start each Spring semester with “Kelley Connect Week”, an on-campus week-long business case competition where you can meet your classmates and see the campus. The Kelley School of Business is also a top ranked school. It was the perfect combo, so I applied. I then got to enjoy a grueling four month crash-course in taking the GMAT exam, which I hope to never have to do again (thankfully I passed with a great score).

Ultimately, I was accepted (!!!), and have now been attending my first semester of classes for about two months, and I love it. LOVE IT. I forgot how much fun school can be! Or, more likely, I didn’t appreciate it when I was younger because I was so ready to be done. Either way, I can already tell this is the right path for me. What I’m learning directly applies to my job, and has already been helpful. I can’t wait to see where my degree will take me!

Photos of Indiana University’s campus:

//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js
A random building on campus