–Jason James, ’17
Before enrolling in the Collaborative MBA, I was an assistant project manager for a commercial general contractor in the Washington, D.C. area. Although I had good relationships with the people I worked with closely, I felt unsatisfied with the work. I’d always had an interest in understanding how the world works so I could leave it better than it was when I arrived, and I wanted my work to be better aligned with that larger purpose.
In the year before I entered Cohort #2 of the Collaborative MBA, I was reading about social entrepreneurship and saw the potential business can have in making positive societal impacts. I was also exposed to sustainability practice through my work in construction and began connecting the dots between the welfare of people, the environment, and business practices.
I started looking for MBA programs mostly online. Cost was a large concern, and I looked for part-time programs that would allow me to keep my full-time job. I knew ‘flagship’ MBA programs were $100,000 or greater and that amount of student debt would require a certain income after graduating that would possibly limit the sort of roles and companies I applied to. I wasn’t interested in working for an investment bank or in corporate finance. I wanted to have the option to work for a non-profit or go at it on my own.
What set the Collaborative MBA apart were three words: people, planet, and profit. I came across an interview with then Collaborative MBA Program Director Jim Smucker, who talked about how the program is anchored to the challenge of balancing those three aspects in business. How do we care for people and take care of the environment while operating successful businesses? This was just the intersection of study I was looking for.
Something else that differentiated the program was the combination of in-person residencies and synchronous online classes. I wanted to build relationships. The first residency was so important in building a rapport with my cohort, and it made the following classes feel so much more real in the online Zoom sessions. Even though it’s been a year since graduation, I still speak with my classmates at least once a week.
Earning the MBA gave me enough confidence to quit my job and move, too! I found a job with a small tech company in Fort Lauderdale. I chose to work with this company because of the possibility of modeling new ways for tech workers to positively impact the communities they live within. Now I’m connecting with the larger purposes I looked for in the Collaborative MBA: understanding how the world works and leveraging that understanding to make a positive impact.
Category: Tags: Cohort-based Education, People as Priority
