–Ruben Dyck, ’18
Since the day I finished my undergraduate studies, I dreamed of pursuing further education at a graduate level. Working as a youth pastor and taking on more leadership in the church, it would have made sense to attend a seminary. However, with a young family and a full-time job, moving away was not an ideal option. I had almost given up on my dreams of pursuing a masters when a visiting pastor told me about the Collaborative MBA.
What caught my attention was the hybrid structure of intensive residencies and online videoconference-based courses. The workload of the program also seemed compatible with a full-time job on the side. I was told that the general courses would help me to better understand many of our church members who engage in full-time business practice, as well as to help further develop my own leadership abilities.
Last month, I graduated. As I look back, I am truly grateful for this experience. The initial residency – a combination of intense classes and fun dinners with classmates and professors – helped us bond as a group and took away most of my anxiety about the program. I didn’t know what to expect with an online program, but was truly impressed by how well the Zoom platform worked. It seemed as close to an actual classroom as it can get. As a group, we even scheduled our own meetings occasionally, just to catch up and hang out.
One of my personal highlights was the week in Costa Rica midway through the program. It was great to reconnect in person as a group and taught me so much in the area of sustainability. I also appreciated the fact that we didn’t have to write exams in class, but instead were continually asked to develop a final project in which we applied the concepts gained in class to our current organization. This allowed me to learn in more practical and dynamic ways and actually helped me improve many things in my organization during the program.
I look forward to further using this newly obtained knowledge to better serve my church and to share it with others.
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