How Ariel Kirby turned her EMBA into impact

How Ariel found her path forward

Before Ariel began her Executive MBA (EMBA) at UFred, she was working two jobs, building experience while looking for the next step in her career.

During the pandemic, life slowed down enough to create space for reflection and mentorship. “My mentor is the one who handed me the idea that I potentially had transferable skills that could go beyond being a specialist,” she says.

The EMBA became the way for Ariel to build on her potential. It connected the strengths she already had with the wider impact she wanted to create.

Seeing opportunities for positive change

Ariel had already built a career around helping people. She had worked as a clinician in physiotherapy, as a medical assistant with the military and as a benefits specialist. She worked with rehabilitation clients and disability case management, including complex cases.

In each role, Ariel saw people navigating difficult moments in their lives. She began noticing a pattern. People were falling through the cracks. What stayed with her were the people whose situations might have been different if the right systems had reached them sooner.

Ariel wanted to understand how infrastructure and leadership could help close those gaps earlier. “I thought program implementation or program management is the way I want to go.” That led her to UFred.

The flexible MBA that fit her life even as it changed

One of the reasons Ariel chose the University of Fredericton is because the online EMBA allowed her to keep working while studying.

“The EMBA gave me the possibility to continue at a speed of life that I was comfortable at,” she says. “It offered the flexibility, the ease of continuing to work, the ease of knowing that it's one course at a time.” Instead of spreading her attention across several courses, she could focus deeply on one subject, understand it and apply it in her day-to-day work right away.

UFred’s flexible EMBA program also fit into Ariel’s life as she became a mother. She was able to pause the program to be with her newborn, then get back at it without losing momentum. “I needed to take a little bit of extra time off before coming back and showcasing my full focus.”

She credits her partner’s support as essential, and she also recognizes her fellow students. “There was so much empathy, so much compassion and so much support among the team members. It was made possible 100% by the colleagues that I studied with.”

A different perspective for meaningful change

The EMBA gave Ariel the broader perspective she had been looking for. “The EMBA offered an oversight, a bird's eye view,” she says. It gave Ariel clarity, which became “the gift that keeps on giving.”

She learned how to understand leadership, governance, operations, finances and capacity. She learned how decisions are made and how the many moving parts of an organization must align for meaningful change to happen. This wider lens helps her understand where her effort can have the greatest impact.

Her education also changed how Ariel carries pressure. “I feel less stressed in my role because I understand where priorities lie and I understand where my energy should go. This program allowed me to hone in on where the hard work really has to happen. And that's huge.”

Creating impact beyond herself

Today, Ariel works as a Business Development Manager with CBI Health, supporting work across the Atlantic provinces. Her role involves maintaining relationships, managing escalations and strategically growing the business. She is also a professional coach.

Ariel has seen clear career growth. She says her salary increased by more than 47% from when she started the EMBA to when she finished. She has applied her learnings to large-scale implementation work, including a national full-cycle digital health navigation platform rollout across federal and provincial jurisdictions. Reflecting on that work, Ariel said, “Honestly, I couldn't have done it without the program.”

UFred's EMBA gave Ariel the structure, perspective and confidence to support individuals and understand where needs for impact are greatest. “I do believe that the degree will help me help people.”