As I finish up my third trimester in the Fully Employed Program, I can hardly believe that it has already been a year. This time next year I will be graduating. To get to this point has been a long hard road.
Three years ago I was engaged, planning a wedding, and working a great job in an advertising agency. I never had any intention to get my MBA; I didn't need it. I was making great money and was content to stay in my job position. I was content to settle. And I would have too, but soon after, my advertising agency dissolved and I was forced to look for work.
Company after company I went searching for a dream job. I was confronted with overbearing bosses, competitive co-workers, and I would stay late doing projects that I was not receiving the pay or credit for. It was then that I decided not to settle anymore. My brother had kept telling me that my MBA was important if I wanted to grow in my career, and I started to realize he was right.
However, it was easier said than done. When I first thought of pursing my MBA, I was immediately attracted to Pepperdine. The small class size and experienced faculty is what drew me in, as well as, the outstanding opportunity to travel abroad. It had been my biggest regret to never spend a semester abroad in undergrad. So the one week global program seemed like an excellent way to fulfill my dreams of traveling, without spending too much time away from my fiancé. Getting into Pepperdine was not easy for me.
My fear of timed tests is what hindered my performance in the GMAT. I tried again and again and was still unsuccessful to achieve a desirable score. I was rejected from Pepperdine's MBA program, three times, but my mind was set on Pepperdine. I took undergraduate business courses to prove that I was a serious student. I quit full-time work and began to freelance so I can fit school in my schedule. I took 36 units; full-time at three different schools. I asked my fiancé if it would be alright to postpone our wedding until I could get into the program. He did agree to wait, but unfortunately his patience ran out. We ended our engagement.
Shortly thereafter, I ended up in the hospital due to a previous back injury. I was in an out for a year while still attending my undergraduate business studies. I was heavily medicated and in severe pain. I can still remember staring up at the hospital room ceiling, too uncomfortable to fall asleep, and too tired to cry. "∫Why am I doing this? Maybe I am not cut out for it?" It's easy to give up when you feel like nothing seems to be going your way. You lose all sense of belief and confidence in yourself. It is in that moment that I found the strength to make the decision to fight"for me.
Through the help of my family, I pushed through my self-doubt. My back healed and I was finally accepted into Pepperdine. And what an experience it has been. I have made connections with people that I know will extend far past the MBA classroom.
The education that I have gained thus far has inspired me not only mentally, but creatively as well. Through global programs I already went to Shanghai making valuable business contacts and even had time to climb The Great Wall. Next trimester, I am taking advantage of studying abroad like I always wanted by spending the trimester in France and afterwards a week with the global course in Argentina. All this would not have been possible if I hadn't gone through all my previous battles. And if Pepperdine would have accepted me at an earlier time, then I wouldn't have met all the wonderful classmates that I have the pleasure of knowing now. I would have just settled.
So why am I telling you all this?
Because throughout your MBA career you will ask yourself this ultimate question, "∫Why I am doing this?"
It will happen. It will happen the first trimester when you stay up late writing a paper only to wake up in another two hours to go to work. It will happen a few times in the second trimester when you have to leave a family member's birthday party early because you have a team meeting. It will happen several times in the third trimester when you struggle through homework problems and study so hard for a test but get the grade back only to find you didn't do as well as you thought.
So, yes, it will happen. And I am telling you this because when it does, remind yourself, it is never better to settle, you can do this, but most importantly, always believe in yourself.
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Good stuff. Thanks for sharing. I always tell friends “it will never be easier than right now to go back to graduate school.” No matter what is going on in life, it never gets easier to set everything aside and focus on graduate school.
Thank you for your story, Krystal. You made me cried
. I’m in my 1st trimester as a MBA (switched from another program) and I’ve already asked myself so many times: "∫Why I am doing this?" . Now I will think about you and your story when that question come up again. Thank you for the encouragement!
Phung