Marcela Killin plans to grow her business after completing her EMBA
Marcela’s search for further education began when she immigrated to Canada. She wanted to find Canadian credentials that could attest to her ability to communicate and adapt through Canadian education.
One of the main hurdles she faced when considering an EMBA was the financial burden that often accompanies graduate programs. Like many students, she could not put her career on hold to pursue full-time, in-person education. The University of Fredericton (UFred) was an appealing solution for her as the fully online programs would allow her to continue to grow her consulting practice, Complexly Simple Inc., while furthering her education.
Marcela’s describes her company as a business that “exists to help bring complex ideas to life, by turning them into simple solutions. Supporting visionaries and innovators so that complexity doesn’t become overwhelming, and their ideas can come to fruition”.
Benefits of the program: forging connections and applied learning
Marcela found the challenges she faced in each of her courses helped her improve and grow. She found herself consistently improving her research, writing, and critical thinking skills to make sure she was presenting her best work, and her interactions with professors and peers were enriching. The online environment didn’t hinder her ability to create and maintain connections; in fact, she found it supported networking and collaboration.
“The peer group and professors help you grow as a person, teach you how to shift to different perspectives, and really approach business differently. I feel that even though classes and interactions were online, we were able to create great connections among peers and instructors and support each other's growth.”
Of the many lessons Marcela learned during her time at UFred, the most important was the need to work together and communicate effectively. While completing the program, she applied these skills within her career and found it improved her day-to-day work.
“We were all in different time zones, working in different jobs, and yet we were responsible for group assignments. Due to this, learning how to collaborate with the team, communicate effectively and help each other grow was essential to our success.”
As a result of what she learned during her EMBA program, Marcela is now ready to expand her business to other regions, creating a client base outside of Canada and the U.S. to assist more social enterprises with their long-term sustainability.
“With the social enterprise leadership tools I've learned, I know we can make a positive impact towards making the world a better place and helping our clients and partner organizations do the same.”
Advice for Future and Current Students
Marcela’s advice to students is to approach the program with an open mind and be willing to learn different strategies than those that you may be used to.
“Come prepared to approach things differently. The EMBA program gives you so much perspective on different business models, so you need to keep an open mind to the fact that sometimes the strategies you’re taught will be very different than what you’re currently using. This is a great thing because it means that you can be the innovator who brings these new strategies to your organization.”