How did a business graduate degree help you?
Pursuing my graduate degree at the University of Portland was an amazing experience that I think will continue to benefit me for years to come. My undergraduate degree was in Communications and I have been working in some capacity of corporate communications since graduating. I quickly learned that working in communications, part of the job is being able to intelligently write about the business and to work with executives on their communication needs. I felt that I had a gap in my knowledge, where writing came easy, but understanding different business processes and needs was often more difficult. This was one of the main reasons that I chose to pursue a Master’s of Business Administration degree.
The varied classes pushed me outside of my comfort zone and into the worlds of finance, accounting and statistics, to name a few, that helped me to further understand not only how businesses function but also how those at the executive level make decisions on a day to day basis. I loved the flexibility of the program to take classes on my own schedule and appreciated that I was able to continue working while earning my degree.
What are you doing now?
Recently, I was promoted to a new role within my company, First Tech Federal Credit Union. As the Manager of Marketing Communications I have the opportunity to lead a small but busy team who focuses on all things external communications for the credit union. My experience at University of Portland helped give me the confidence to pursue this new role and feel more confident in my abilities to take this next step in my career. I’m looking forward to learning and growing in this new role with First Tech.
On a personal note, my husband and I are also looking forward to our next great adventure as we welcome a baby girl to our family in June!