When Terri Simmons sets her mind to accomplish her goals, she finds a way to make them happen. A great example of her determination is how she is changing her career direction by pursuing an MBA from UNI.
Before applying for admission to the MBA program, Terri taught band for one year after graduating from Simpson College, but then left to work at West Music for four years. Eventually, she returned to teaching until she realized that an MBA was something she wanted to pursue.
“I want to do something other than sell band instruments or teach,” Terri said. “Getting an MBA is a great fit for my interests and an intelligent starting point for my career goals.”
Terri lives in Reinbeck with her husband, Greg, so she decided to explore graduate school opportunities at UNI. She also had a friend who had earned an MBA and highly recommended pursuing the degree.
“I did some research and decided to find out more about UNI’s MBA program since I had a background in education rather than business,” Terri said. “I talked with Leslie Wilson, the MBA director, about how I could get the business courses necessary to prepare myself for the MBA at UNI. Dr. Wilson encouraged me to go ahead and take the GMAT and apply for admission.”
Before Terri could move into the MBA program, she enrolled full-time in pre-MBA courses such as Principles of Financial Accounting, Business Statistics, and Legal and Social Environment of Business.
In Steve Wartick’s Organizational Management course, Terri accumulated experience in critical thinking.
“As a class, we examined case studies from our textbook,” she said. “We discussed the case studies in class, and those class discussions helped prepare me for MBA coursework.”
Her pre-MBA courses led to being accepted into the UNI MBA program for the Fall 2005 term. Terri is a full-time graduate student, and she will complete the degree within a year.
As an MBA student, Terri received a half scholarship and an assistantship provided by the University. For her assistantship, she is working with Dr. Dale Cyphert, Associate Professor of Management, as a writer for the UNIBusiness alumni magazine. She also stays busy with grading examinations for Dr. Wartick’s Organizational Management course.
As Terri builds practical experience for her career, she is also accumulating knowledge of business concepts with the challenging courses in the UNI MBA.
“I took a strategic planning course taught by Peter Goulet, and I never worked so hard for a grade in my life,” Terri said.
As part of the course, Terri wrote papers based on evaluating information from case studies. From Dr. Goulet’s instruction, she continued to develop her critical thinking skills. She also came to understand the importance of those skills.
“Connecting the dots doesn’t come naturally when you’re just looking at income and tax statements,” she said. “Analyzing and understanding numbers and the decision making processes of business professionals takes practice.”
When Terri was asked how she wanted to use her MBA after graduation, she had two very different answers.
“I would like to manage the business office of a symphony orchestra or performing arts center, or work as a sports information director for a major university,” Terri said. “Those careers goals have been with me for some time, but I’m taking the necessary steps to create new career opportunities for myself.”
Updated 15-Sep-08
