I’ve been asked by many people as to why I’ve left the working world and gone ‘back to school’ to start the MBA program at Sauder? My employer didn’t understand it, neither did many of my colleagues and friends. For me it was all about a major re-organization of my priorities over the last year beginning in January, when I was fortunate enough to marry the love of my life Kelsea (see pictures). I held a partnership position with a great company over the past 6 years, The Donnelly Group (www.donnellygroup.com) and played a major role in their expansion throughout Vancouver. The company is in great shape and is poised for an aggressive expansion down south into the US – so why would I leave? An MBA has been a goal of mine since my undergraduate days for reasons beyond adding initials behind my name – I feel the experience will help shape me into who I want to be 5, 10, 15 years from now. Kelsea and I have plans for a large family, but we’re both focused on putting in the work now to move our careers forward (she’s working at VGH while concurrently completing her degree at SFU). I applied to several other B-schools, however none would enable me to stay in my beautiful hometown and study at a top-ranked MBA program.
So back to the re-org of my priorities – family is very important to me and unfortunately, my prior position wasn’t conducive to a healthy home/work balance. This is not to say I’m looking to start a new career working 35-40 hours/week in a cushy position, I just want to be in an industry where I can grow and develop my skill-set and use my Sauder experience to get me to where I want to be. The hospitality industry has done amazing things for me, however the expiration date on a career within it comes a lot sooner than in other sectors. The MBA program will help me transition back into a career in Finance and I’m excited for the coursework and hands-on approach to the curriculum. Further, having spent the last 2 weeks with my cohort, I’m looking forward to our team-based coursework and learning from my classmates, all of which are very talented individuals that share my vision and are looking to further their own careers.
I feel great about my decision and although the bank account will take a bit of a beating over the next 16 months I’m dedicated to staying the course. My family and amazing wife are very supportive and share my enthusiasm for the program. I’m pumped to get started!