Student Spotlight
Gloria Austin
"Pepperdine introduced me to the real world of business."
How has your Graziadio School experience helped you to succeed?
Pepperdine introduced me to the real world of business. Now as a CEO, my understanding of the leadership skills needed to create, and sustain, a healthy organization and culture is invaluable. You can learn how to be a great leader, but you need a lot of tools. There is no question that Pepperdine was an instrumental part of building those tools for me.
What makes the Graziadio School classroom experience unique?
Like me, my classmates generally held managerial roles across a variety of industries. That proved to be really helpful, as we could take a complex issue in class and go away with a group of students and get a variety of perspectives. Every industry tackles a problem differently, but at the end of the day what's important is that you solve the problem. It made for a much richer experience to have the opportunity to problem solve with other individuals.
What makes the Graziadio School different than other business schools?
The values that Pepperdine has, combined with the faculty, leadership within the program, and the exceptional students make it all come together. I think Pepperdine really does try to select the best from these categories. It's a very well led program, a diverse program, and a challenging program--which is important.
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