Student Spotlight: Heather Pierce MBA ’18 Candidate
When Heather Pierce first wanted to return to school for her MBA, she considered many different online programs, but she found “they were either atrociously expensive or from schools I had maybe never even heard of before.”
Then, she discovered William & Mary’s new Online MBA offering and decided to enroll, though she still harbored some concerns about studying online.
“One of my concerns with doing an online program,” Heather said, “was whether or not I would really get that peer-to-peer interaction that you’d get in a normal program. And it’s been great. We’ve had a lot of great collaborations. They put us into small groups. I really appreciate the fact that they try to pair us with a diverse group of people.”
And so far, she has felt the difference the program has made in her career. “I think it’s just really opened up my mind to better understanding the challenges and problems that my colleagues face in different departments,” she said, because “now I have a better understanding and can view the problem through their lens.”
In our video below, you can hear more about Heather’s search for a reputable online MBA program, what led her to William & Mary, and her time in the program so far.
Video Transcript
My name is Heather Pierce. I'm a senior product manager for Spine at LifeNet Health in Virginia Beach. I had looked at William and Mary years ago, but they only had the executive format, the full-time format, and the flex, and none of them were conducive to my position. I travel a lot and sometime it's last minute travel. So, when I decided to go back for my MBA, I was looking at a variety of different online versions, but they were either atrociously expensive or they were from schools that maybe I had never even heard of before. And so, my manager had said, "Hey, take another look at William and Mary." And I was delighted to find out that they had started very recently an online program, so it then quickly became my first choice. But one of my concerns with doing an online program was whether or not I would really get that peer-to-peer interaction that you get in a normal program.
And it's been great. We've had a lot of great collaborations. They put us into small groups. I really appreciate the fact that they try to pair us with a diverse group of people. I think it's just really opened up by mind to better understanding the challenges and problems that my colleagues face in different departments. I'm in marketing and I didn't have a great understanding of why maybe my financial colleagues would respond the way that they would, but now I have a better understanding and I can view a problem through their lens. I think it's been absolutely wonderful. I've been wanting to do the online MBA program for a long time, but I wanted to do it at a reputable school. And so, it's just been a wonderful experience for me. I would highly recommend the online program for William and Mary to other people.
If you’re interested in another student’s journey to the W&M Online MBA, hear about Mark Dieterle’s 30-year quest to earn his degree.