Kaley Carroll always wanted to earn a master杏吧专区檚 degree, but a rocky undergraduate career initially left her unable to earn acceptance into graduate school.
So, she earned a second bachelor杏吧专区檚 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杏吧专区檚.
杏吧专区淚 realized that everybody on my team who held higher positions than me had an MBA,杏吧专区 Carroll says. 杏吧专区淚t had always been a goal of mine, and that was a clue that I really needed to think about it again.杏吧专区&苍产蝉辫;
Carroll considered the MBA programs available close to her home in Houston but was left unimpressed.
杏吧专区淭he programs I looked at were exorbitantly expensive, or I just didn杏吧专区檛 see myself being able to make them work based on how the classes were scheduled,杏吧专区 she says.
Then, she looked into online graduate programs at the 杏吧专区 杏吧专区 the school where her dad and several family members had earned their degrees.
杏吧专区淎s soon as I looked at UL Lafayette and read about the MBA online, I was sold,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚t was affordable and flexible.杏吧专区&苍产蝉辫;
Getting Back in the Groove
Despite being out of school for several years, Carroll杏吧专区檚 transition back into school at UL Lafayette was seamless, beginning with the application process.
杏吧专区淲hat I really loved about UL Lafayette was that they used a holistic approach, taking my work experience into consideration as well as my undergraduate GPA,杏吧专区 Carroll says. 杏吧专区淚 went through a period in undergrad when I didn杏吧专区檛 know what I wanted to do, and my grades suffered. Things happen, and I杏吧专区檓 grateful that UL Lafayette considered other factors.杏吧专区
At UL Lafayette, 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 杏吧专区 for example, strong professional or research experience 杏吧专区 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 杏吧专区 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.
杏吧专区淏ecause 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,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淲e were always talking in our class group chats, asking each other questions like, 杏吧专区楬ey, how did you interpret this part of the project?杏吧专区 or 杏吧专区楬ey, how is everybody doing on their assignments?杏吧专区櫺影勺ㄇ鴿
Carroll also found the MBA program杏吧专区檚 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.
杏吧专区淯tilizing the Success Hub杏吧专区檚 Q&A forum really helped me get a feel for which classes I should take and when,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淥ne 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.杏吧专区&苍产蝉辫;
Learning & Growing
Several of Carroll杏吧专区檚 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杏吧专区檚 CRM practices.
杏吧专区淔or one of the assignments, we had to research different CRM software and apply it to our company or a different company,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 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杏吧专区檚 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.杏吧专区&苍产蝉辫;
Carroll also found that the coursework helped her appreciate how all of the pieces come together in a large company like hers.
杏吧专区淭hroughout the program, I had a lot of 杏吧专区榓ha杏吧专区 moments,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淭here were times when we杏吧专区檇 cover a concept and I杏吧专区檇 be like, 杏吧专区榃ait, they talked about this on our last earnings call.杏吧专区櫺影勺ㄇ鴿
杏吧专区淚 feel like my overall business acumen has been elevated. I just have a better understanding of how things operate and work at my company.杏吧专区&苍产蝉辫;
Looking Ahead
Now that Carroll has earned her MBA, she杏吧专区檚 ready to continue advancing.
Currently a manager, she hopes to move up to senior manager and, eventually, director.
杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檓 more involved in the day-to-day work of my department right now,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檇 like to eventually get to a higher role where I杏吧专区檓 doing year-over-year planning and setting our strategy.杏吧专区&苍产蝉辫;
Her experience in the program and in the workforce leaves her with a great deal of advice for her peers.
杏吧专区淒on杏吧专区檛 be afraid, and ask for help if you need it,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 had been out of school for almost 10 years and worked full time my entire time in the MBA program.杏吧专区&苍产蝉辫;
杏吧专区淭ake classes based on what you feel like you can handle. If you杏吧专区檙e struggling, reach out to someone. Ask your peers, TAs, professors, or administration. Take advantage of the resources and programs UL Lafayette has available.杏吧专区&苍产蝉辫;
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.
杏吧专区淚f you live out of state and have the means to go to graduation, do it,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淵ou deserve to be up on the stage walking and wearing your regalia. Make it a point to come to campus and celebrate your accomplishment.杏吧专区&苍产蝉辫;
Prepare for the next step in your career with the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 MBA program online.