Kelsey McSorley (‘21 management information systems) works full-time as an IT business analyst at Ruan Transportation Management Systems and will soon be a graduate of Ivy’s MBA program. She is from Council Bluffs, Iowa.
“I started my undergrad degree in 2017 at Iowa State while playing soccer for the women’s team,” she said. “Soccer is ultimately what brought me to Iowa State, but things like the Ivy College of Business credibility, the campus, and the distance from home really sold me.”
McSorley enjoyed her time at Iowa State and had plans to attend graduate school, but she wasn’t sure how she’d be able to balance furthering her education with a full-time job. This is where the professional MBA program came into play. Made for working professionals like McSorley, this part-time program is offered 100 percent online or as a hybrid, which provides students with the flexibility to pursue their MBA while still being able to focus on their current career positions.
“When I found the professional MBA program, I knew it was going to be a great fit,” McSorley said. “I didn’t want to wait any longer to go back to school for my master’s because I feel like my home life is fairly calm at the moment with no kiddos and a hybrid work schedule.”
The program allows students to learn from top-ranked, internationally-known faculty while honing real-world business skills like strategic thinking and problem-solving. Additionally, professional MBA students gain access to Ivy’s career services team, which offers each student personalized, custom advice and services for their climb up the corporate ladder.<
“The program has been everything I was looking for and more,” said McSorley. “The opportunities to network and meet people with such a wide variety of life and professional experience is incredible. Also, all of the professors I’ve had throughout the program have been nothing short of amazing.”
For professional MBA students, a course focused on professional skills, resume best practices, and how to nail an interview is part of the curriculum. In addition, the career services team provides guest speakers and workshops focused on soft-skill development. This professional focus has been another highlight for McSorley.
“The opportunities to network and meet people with such a wide variety of life and professional experience is incredible. Also, all of the professors I’ve had throughout the program have been nothing short of amazing.” ~Kelsey McSorley
“My favorite thing that I’ve learned so far is that people have so many different strengths, weaknesses, differences, similarities, etc. and it is okay to utilize those things in the school environment but especially in the work environment. From an educational perspective, I truly just feel like you get such a broad range of knowledge in so many different business areas. It’s the perfect amount of information with it being an MBA versus a specific focus, such as accounting.”
Being in a graduate program has a high degree of difficulty, but the opportunities and experiences gained from the program make it more than worth it.
“The program is definitely tough. It takes a lot of commitment and focus, but it truly feels rewarding after getting through each class. I can’t even imagine how it will feel when we all graduate,” McSorley said.
