Higher education has transformed Wendy Berkson. The Online Master of Business Administration (MBA) graduate has much to appreciate. “This degree opens doors to higher-paying jobs, increased career mobility and numerous networking opportunities,” she said.
Video Transcript
My name is Wendy Berkson, and I have a Master’s of Business Administration from Boise State University. So for me, Boise State’s online MBA program has opened doors to a higher paying job, a lot more networking opportunities and increased career mobility. I am an IT product manager. I work with different internal business units on different solutions that they are looking for.
For me, the appeal to the emphasis area was really how I wanted to align my career path. And so the offerings that Boise State has and their emphasis areas really allowed me to hone my skill sets and my knowledge base in those areas, which is what led me to take on management. And I’m really excited now because Boise State is offering more emphasis areas and I think that is an incredible opportunity.
100% online coursework, featuring seven-week courses with six start dates a year.
The online component is really important because as a working professional it needed to fit my schedule. And as a parent and a wife, those were all commitments I have to continue going. So the online program really allowed me to take on the task of getting my MBA so that I could work when it was easy for me to work on it.
But I still had a regular 9 to 5 job and mom duties as well. So the online program is flexible in the sense that you can work on the program autonomously. The application process was very easy. I found the form online, filled it out, submitted it, and got a response from an academic coach right away. And at no time did I ever felt pressure to commit to anything.
It was really about making sure that this was the right decision. I believe I gained a tremendous amount of skills. It’s a great program and it’s designed to work with people who have families and have careers. It’s designed to let you apply what you’re learning. And so you really have a fuller understanding of how these different applications work in the real world.
And for me, that was priceless. It can be done in less than two years, and it’s an amazing feeling to say, look back now and say, yeah, I did it. And it’s a wonderful feeling to have that accomplishment and have that goal. Being a first gen graduate is, it’s a really proud feeling to see that accomplishment in not only for myself but for my family.
I can’t tell you who is more excited when I was finished, if it was me or my daughter. And that is a sense of immense pride that I have in being a first generation student.