Hi, Ann. Please start by telling us a little about yourself. 

Ann: Well, I'm a mom of three kids, I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts, and I’ve worked as a teacher for 5 years in private schools. After doing this for awhile, it made me realize that I don’t want to be a teacher for the rest of my life....

What made you decide to pursue an MBA at ABTU?

Ann: When I got pregnant with my third child, I had to leave my job and stay home to take care of the baby. This also gave me the chance to clear my mind and think about what I really wanted to do with my life.

So I started listing my skills on a piece of paper, one by one.

I’ve had friends say I’m a people person, enjoy solving problems, organized, motivated, and full of energy and ideas. I think I’d make a wonderful leader. I believe I’d also be great in marketing, as a store manager, sales manager, or operations manager. As you can see, all those choices are business related so I realized I should follow that track.

Another reason is that during pregnancy I started my own online business called Ann Scarves.

At first, I had no clue how to run or manage a business and I thought getting a Master’s Degree in Business Administration would help me better understand my business and the best approach to make it more profitable.

That’s awesome, Ann. Your website looks great, by the way. So of all the online colleges out there, what made you choose ABTU?

Ann: Before I joined ABTU, I’d looked at a lot of schools online. There were certain criteria I was looking for:

• The school I would choose must be accredited and have a strong history. ABTU is accredited by DEAC (www.DEAC.org), which is one of the best in the industry, in my opinion. It has also been doing online education for over 15 years, so I was confident they could deliver on their promises.
  
• It needed to provide live lectures with real instructors, not just recorded videos. Some schools didn’t even provide videos! The other schools said they'd give me the curriculum and I’d have to study on my own. I didn’t like that. In contrast, I like to have an instructor that I meet weekly and can help me through the course. ABTU instructors are all supportive and willing to help, and I get to know them which is also great for networking.
  
  
• It needed to have great feedback from real students.
  
  
• I have to have affordable tuition. I’m self-funded and I don’t want to graduate with student debt. It’s very important to me that I can take my courses within my budget. ABTU is there for that – they also believe in helping students avoid federal student debt, and their tuition and zero interest payment plans are very helpful and made my tuition affordable.

ABTU had everything I was looking for – it literally checked all the boxes.   

How does attending class fit into your work and family life?

Ann: Between work, housework and my three young children, I’m not always able to be home in time for the class, so I’m really glad attending live lectures isn’t a requirement and if I miss a lecture I can always go back and listen to it later. I love the live lecture format and the friendships that have developed within our group. Life is a juggling-act and sometimes, I just have to listen in late at night or during naptimes.

What do you like best about your experience so far?

Ann: I’m so glad I’m gaining new knowledge and learning new skills in so many areas. Learning new things brightens my mind and helps me understand many things in life that I didn’t understand before and will help me in my career. For example, in Economics, we learned how to analyze the political climate from a micro perspective.

I’ve also learned how to use Excel professionally and gained invaluable knowledge to apply in marketing, leadership, information technology, project management, law, and accounting.

And I can't wait to learn more!

ABTU facilitated the learning process for me and now I’ve decided I never want to stop learning for the rest of my life.  I’d like to continue studying after I get my MBA and maybe even earn my doctorate one day.

Thanks for making time out of your busy schedule to chat with us, Ann. We look forward to seeing what you are able to do with your new degree and beyond!

Ann is half-way through her two-year MBA program and is scheduled to graduate in March 2018. We wish her the very best.

What about you?

Are you motivated like Ann and ready to get the training you need to take life head on?  100% online classes at ABTU may just be the solution you've been looking for.

Want to give it a try?

Try your first course at ABTU -- before even enrolling -- using our "Quick Start " Test Drive. If for whatever reason you decide it's not for you, no problem...your first course is on us! Find out more by requesting info here.