UW Foster School of Business Hosts Open House for Prospective Students
Recent alumni share thoughts on the value of the school’s MBA, Specialty Master’s, and Executive Education programs.
“A Foster education teaches the business fundamentals that enable you to be a better decision-maker. It improves your leadership capacity. It accelerates careers, even while you are enrolled in the program.”
Randell (Randy) Hernandez , director of admissions of the Foster Executive MBA, opened with this bold statement at Saturday’s open house for prospective students.
The event offered insights and first-hand experiences into the similarities and differences between Foster’s six MBA programs (Full-Time, Evening, Hybrid, Executive, Technology Management, and Global Executive) and seven (Professional Accounting, Business Analytics, Entrepreneurship, Information Systems, Taxation, Supply Chain Management, and Technology Innovation) and its non-degree Specialty Master’s offerings program. Executive Education
Hernandez explained that all Foster School of Business programs are distinguished by a commitment to excellence, a rigorous curriculum, prestige, and a warm and welcoming community. However, each student’s individual areas of interest, work experience, and schedule will help determine which program is the best fit for them.
To help students with that choice, Foster 2024 alumni shared their experiences, and how their programs paid off in the workplace. We were honored to welcome back:
Alik Assi — Technical Intelligence Analyst at Concentric (MS in Information Systems)
Emily Boudreau — Product Marketing Manager at Amazon (Hybrid MBA)
Stanley Ng — Senior Director of Software Engineering at eFinancial (Technology Management MBA)
Jason Perez — Men’s Apparel Buyer at Costco (Executive Development Program)
Kat Usavage — Lead Product Manager, Social Products at Wells Fargo (Evening MBA)
The panel was moderated by Foster MBA Admissions Director Shannon O’Brien, M.Ed, MBA .
Panelists spoke about what led them to choose their respective programs, how they are applying what they learned in graduate school to their careers, and how they navigated attending school while also making time for family caregiving, community commitments, and personal health and wellness.
Assi used the program to alter the course of his career. As an undergraduate, he was a pre-med major. “When I realized that wasn’t something I wanted to do, I decided to pivot into technology,” he explained. Not having a background in the industry, he first enrolled in the Master of Science in Information Systems Accelerate, which provides introductory programming skills, before entering the degree program.
“The foundation I built in the Accelerate program I was able to use and transition into the primary program,” he said. “It was the perfect bridge for me. It led me to develop an interest in cybersecurity, learn those skills, and eventually get to where I am now.”
Usavage shared that while she was an accomplished marketer before studying at Foster, she wanted better to understand other aspects of the business world. “I wanted to expand my horizons and be able to speak across functions,” she said. The evening program was ideal because it allowed her to continue her career.
“I could connect what I saw in my day-to-day job with what I learned in class.”
Panelists said that juggling school, family, and work commitments wasn’t easy, but they were helped by supportive employers and family members. Perez, who was enrolled in the program while a senior leader at Costco, shared that he has three young children and that being in school at the same time they were, albeit at a very different level, served as a bonding experience.
“Telling my kids that I was also going to school made them want to go to school, too,” he said. When he came home in the evening, he would ask his children what they had learned that day. “And they would ask me the same question. I could tell them about the people in my class and what I was learning,” he said.
On graduation day, his and his fellow classmates’ children were involved in the ceremony, helping hand out certificates.
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.
