April Piper is a proud Ragin杏吧专区 Cajun.
Despite never taking on-campus classes and living over an hour away, she often visits Lafayette to see the friends she made while earning her MBA online. She also loves a good crawfish boil or tailgate.
Just a few years ago, graduate school wasn杏吧专区檛 on her radar. But she started feeling stagnant in her career and knew it was time to return to school to expand her skillset.
So, she turned to everyone杏吧专区檚 best friend: Google.
杏吧专区淚 didn杏吧专区檛 know anything about graduate programs, but I looked online and saw that UL Lafayette had a great MBA program offered online,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 applied, got accepted, and the rest is history.杏吧专区
That history included gaining practical business knowledge and making lifelong connections and friendships, all while maintaining her full-time job.
A Flexible Education
About half of the students in the UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 MBA program come from undergraduate disciplines other than business.
Piper, who graduated from the program in December 2023, was one of those students. She earned her bachelor杏吧专区檚 degree in social sciences in 2011 before working as an operations technician at a manufacturing plant in Pineville, Louisiana.
But after a while, she wanted to do more.
杏吧专区淕oing back to school was something I had to think about. I decided to do it mainly because I was unhappy with where I was in my career,杏吧专区 she says.
As a plant employee, Piper doesn杏吧专区檛 work a traditional 9-to-5 schedule. Her shifts are 12 hours long, and she switches between day and night shifts each week.
When looking for degree programs, she needed something flexible, so she opted for the program杏吧专区檚 online delivery option. Juggling work and studies, Piper spent her days off dedicating six to 12 hours to her schoolwork at a time.
杏吧专区淎s difficult as the program and courses were, it was convenient,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淓very so often I would create a day off for myself, just to keep my sanity. Other than that, it was all school or work.杏吧专区
Crafting Her Curriculum
Piper also found flexibility in the MBA curriculum itself. She had , allowing her to craft an experience that fit her interests and goals.
Initially choosing project management, Piper later discovered an interest in human resources. With permission from the program coordinator, she took extra classes to complete the HR management concentration, too.
She actively applies her new knowledge in both project management and human resources at work every day.
杏吧专区淢y current role limits me as far as what I can do, but I still try to apply what I've learned,杏吧专区 she says.
杏吧专区淔rom a technical standpoint, I try to come up with different cost-saving procedures with what I learned in project management. And now, with my human resources knowledge, I know how to better communicate with people. I杏吧专区檓 working with someone in HR at work right now to improve morale in my department.杏吧专区
When the time comes for Piper to make her next move, she杏吧专区檒l be equipped to handle the challenges that come her way.
杏吧专区淢y goal is to be a senior project manager, mainly because I want to stay in a hands-on role. I would also not be opposed to being a human resource manager or specialist or something in that area,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淲hatever I end up doing, I know I杏吧专区檓 going to try to be the best at it.杏吧专区
Making Friends Abroad
Students in the MBA program online 杏吧专区 and other online programs 杏吧专区 can participate in the . This program allows students to travel while gaining unique learning experiences and connect with their classmates in person.
Piper chose to study abroad for the Summer 2023 term, enrolling in IBUS 540: International Business.
杏吧专区淪tudying abroad, for me, was the best part of the MBA program,杏吧专区 Piper says.
Piper and her classmates spent 10 days in Costa Rica touring local businesses. Their stops included a coffee shop, a laundry detergent manufacturer, medical device manufacturer, and a major international tech company.
杏吧专区淚t was great to see how they did things over there, in the sense of sustainability and things like that,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淓very day, we had a reflection assignment where we wrote about an assigned topic and what we learned. We had a good time and learned a lot.杏吧专区
And Piper didn杏吧专区檛 just leave Costa Rica with a new business perspective, either.
杏吧专区淚t was so refreshing to be able to meet my classmates and my professor,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 made lasting friendships from that trip; that will always be the best part of the program for me.杏吧专区
Embracing the cULture
As an MBA student, Piper also found community in the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 MBA Association. The MBAA and the Moody College of Business host virtual Q&As, Zoom trivia nights, and more to keep online students engaged.
Piper made frequent appearances at these events, virtually and in person. She often made the 1.5-hour drive from her home in Alexandria to attend tailgates, crawfish boils, and social hours.
杏吧专区淎ll of the events that MBAA did gave us the opportunity to get together and socialize and meet everybody,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淲hen I come to Lafayette, it杏吧专区檚 my friends from MBAA and from study abroad who I link up with. We talk regularly, sometimes daily.杏吧专区
And, luckily, her involvement in the MBA program isn杏吧专区檛 over just because she finished her degree. UL Lafayette MBAA members are considered members for life, and Piper has no plans to step away from the connections she杏吧专区檚 made.
Her advice to students in MBA program? Work hard and get involved, just like she did.
杏吧专区淲hatever your situation is, online learning will make it easier; you just have to keep working hard,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淭he best part about it all is that no matter where you live, you杏吧专区檒l get to be a Ragin杏吧专区 Cajun.杏吧专区
Level up your business knowledge and make lifetime connections through UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 MBA program online.