Kaley Carroll always wanted to earn a master’s degree, but a rocky undergraduate career initially left her unable to earn acceptance into graduate school.
So, she earned a second bachelor’s degree and started her career, ending up in customer experience marketing for a major energy provider in Houston, Texas.
After two promotions, Carroll looked around and decided it was time to return to her goal of earning a master’s.
“I realized that everybody on my team who held higher positions than me had an MBA,” Carroll says. “It had always been a goal of mine, and that was a clue that I really needed to think about it again.”&Բ;
Carroll considered the MBA programs available close to her home in Houston but was left unimpressed.
“The programs I looked at were exorbitantly expensive, or I just didn’t see myself being able to make them work based on how the classes were scheduled,” she says.
Then, she looked into online graduate programs at the 鶹AV — the school where her dad and several family members had earned their degrees.
“As soon as I looked at 鶹AV and read about the MBA online, I was sold,” she says. “It was affordable and flexible.”&Բ;
Getting Back in the Groove
Despite being out of school for several years, Carroll’s transition back into school at 鶹AV was seamless, beginning with the application process.
“What I really loved about 鶹AV’s MBA program was that they used holistic admissions,” Carroll says.
At 鶹AV, no one single factor leads to an acceptance or denial of admission, explains Dr. Mary Farmer-Kaiser, dean of the Graduate School.
"Holistic review provides the opportunity for a student's strengths in one area — for example, strong professional or research experience — to offset a weakness in another," says Dr. Farmer-Kaiser. "Leadership, community involvement and service, research and scholarship, and work experience are weighed alongside past academic performance to improve access to graduate education while ensuring students are able to succeed in their respective programs."
Once admitted to and enrolled in the MBA program, Carroll found a community of passionate, supportive professionals — many of whom were working full time, just like her. Carroll connected with classmates and leaned on them for support and guidance through group chats.
“Because of my rocky undergraduate career, I never had that experience of taking classes with friends, but I felt like I got that in the MBA program,” she says. “We were always talking in our class group chats, asking each other questions like, ‘Hey, how did you interpret this part of the project?’ or ‘Hey, how is everybody doing on their assignments?’”
Carroll also found the MBA program’s Success Hub to be a great resource. Success Hubs, accessible via Moodle, allow online students to ask questions in a Q&A forum and access other resources for their program all in one place.
“Utilizing the Success Hub’s Q&A forum really helped me get a feel for which classes I should take and when,” she says. “One of the best pieces of advice I received was to always try to pair a writing-focused class with a math-focused class if taking more than one class at a time.”&Բ;
Learning & Growing
Several of Carroll’s courses proved directly relevant to her work in customer experience marketing.
One of her favorites was MKTG 530: Customer Relationship Management.
Throughout the course, students explore tools and best practices for maintaining positive relationships with clients. Carroll took the class as an opportunity to expand her knowledge of her current employer’s CRM practices.
“For one of the assignments, we had to research different CRM software and apply it to our company or a different company,” she says. “I always thought that having a CRM system was just kind of like a box that a company has to check, but I discovered that it’s a lot deeper than that. Having a good CRM system helps you map out the customer journey better and glean insights into improving that journey and customer retention.”&Բ;
Carroll also found that the coursework helped her appreciate how all of the pieces come together in a large company like hers.
“Throughout the program, I had a lot of ‘aha’ moments,” she says. “There were times when we’d cover a concept and I’d be like, ‘Wait, they talked about this on our last earnings call.’”
“I feel like my overall business acumen has been elevated. I just have a better understanding of how things operate and work at my company.”&Բ;
Looking Ahead
Now that Carroll has earned her MBA, she’s ready to continue advancing.
Currently a manager, she hopes to move up to senior manager and, eventually, director.
“I’m more involved in the day-to-day work of my department right now,” she says. “I’d like to eventually get to a higher role where I’m doing year-over-year planning and setting our strategy.”&Բ;
Her experience in the program and in the workforce leaves her with a great deal of advice for her peers.
“Don’t be afraid, and ask for help if you need it,” she says. “I had been out of school for almost 10 years and worked full time my entire time in the MBA program.”&Բ;
“Take classes based on what you feel like you can handle. If you’re struggling, reach out to someone. Ask your peers, TAs, professors, or administration. Take advantage of the resources and programs 鶹AV has available.”&Բ;
Thanks to those resources and her diligent work ethic, Carroll finished the program with a perfect 4.0 GPA, proudly walking across the stage in May 2024 to accept her diploma.
She encourages her peers in the program to embrace when the time comes, just like she did.
“If you live out of state and have the means to go to graduation, do it,” she says. “You deserve to be up on the stage walking and wearing your regalia. Make it a point to come to campus and celebrate your accomplishment.”&Բ;
Prepare for the next step in your career with the 鶹AV’s MBA program online.