MSBA Student Success Testimonial Series: Meredith Ross

Meredith Ross, MSBA '17, will attend Medical School at Georgetown University in the fall. Read about why she chose the program and what she hopes to do with her MSBA degree.

Q: Why did you choose the MSBA Program?

I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to start medicine right away, but I want to own my own practice eventually. I believe this program will give me the business skills to set a good foundation for running my own practice.

Q: Tell us about how your interest in medical school. 

I have few reasons. My friend passed away when we were 13. She died a week before Christmas, and I made a promise to continue to fight cancer. I received her diploma, and I made it my mission to fight cancer. Medical School made a lot of sense after that.

My parents also started Children of Cherynobl, so I was able to see the medical disparity between children here and elsewhere. We also did therapeutic foster care, and the differences were astronomical.

Q: How did the CUA MSBA program help prepare you for this career path?

I’m hoping that the skills I learned will help me when I own my own practice. Medicine is a business, and while I may not be doing the financials, I want an awareness of what is going on beyond my own field. It is a constantly changing environment, and it will be good for me to have a complete understanding of it.

I’ll also take away a lot of the math skills, in particular, the Quantitative Analysis course.

Learning to communicate effectively with your client and customer will translate well when I’m working with patients.

Q: Can you recall a favorite memory from the program?
I really enjoyed the ropes course during Orientation. The New York trip was very interesting, in particular visiting Michael Kors. New York is home to me, so I felt comfortable there while we were exploring different companies.

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MSBA Student Success Testimonial Series: Dylan Meagher

Dylan Meagher, MSBA '17, will be working for the D.C. Retirement Board. Below, Dylan details why he chose the MSBA Program and the experiences that he had over the past year.

Q: Why did you choose the MSBA Program?

I choose the program because I wanted business skills to complement my liberal arts degree. I also choose the program because it gave me a chance to stay in DC, an area ripe with opportunity for jobs.

Q: What company will you be working for, and what will your title be?

I will be working for the D.C. Retirement Board, an agency of the D.C. Government. My position will be Member Services Representative.

Q: How did you get interested in this type of work? 

Ms. Kelly made me aware me of the opportunity to intern at this agency and I jumped at the chance. The agency services police, fire fighters, and teachers from the District of Columbia and I thought that was a noble cause that would be motivating for me. I also welcome the challenge that comes with increasing efficiency within the agency and hope to be an active participant in thinking about how to best implement future changes.

Q: How did the CUA MSBA program help prepare you for this career path?

The MSBA program greatly increased my communication and marketing skills and introduced me to skills in management, data analytics, finance, and accounting. Together, these skills have coalesced and given me a solid frame of thinking that would aid me any challenge I face during my career.

Q: What from the program stands out specifically that you think helped prepare you for a career in this field?

I really enjoyed operations management for its practical lessons. There's always a bottleneck, a part of the process that is holding up the rest of the operation. Identifying that part of the process is the first part in improving that process's efficiency. I think this will greatly aid my current position because there are a wide variety of tasks I will be doing.

Beyond that, the program has increased my confidence and that will help me in all my interactions with annuitants.

Q: Can you recall a favorite memory from the program?

I really enjoyed both the New York trip and the Gettysburg trip. I loved going around both places with the group. Getting to see all the business we visited in New York was a real treat and the leadership lessons we learned in Gettysburg were invaluable.

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MSBA Student Success Testimonial Series: Greg Portner

Greg Portner, MSBA '17, accepted a job offer as a Data Integrity Specialist at Immixgroup. Below, Greg recounts why he choose the MSBA Program, and how he was able to find his career path.


Q: Why did you choose the MSBA Program?

I chose the MSBA Program because it was a Business Masters program with a foundation in Catholic Social Teaching. This combination of faith and enterprise was very attractive to me.

Q: What company will you be working for, and what will your title be?

I will be working for Immixgroup as a Data Integrity Specialist.

Q: How did you get interested in this type of work? 

Throughout the program I was able to get a feel for many different areas of business. One area that continuously stuck out to me was analytics data/finance. Working with numbers and using data to tell a story and help others to make strategic decisions gets me excited.

Q: How did the CUA MSBA program help prepare you for this career path?

The MSBA Program helped prepare me by creating a space for me to have different real world experiences of working with numbers and data sets. The Program helped me to develop the practical skills which I will be using on a daily basis.

Q: What from the program stands out specifically that you think helped prepare you for a career in this field?

The Quantitative Analysis and Finance classes. These were my two favorite classes. My professors were engaging and knowledgeable, and the material was interesting and practical.

Q: Can you recall a favorite memory from the program?

My favorite memory of the program was the Staff Ride in Gettysburg. It was so powerful to walk around the battle field and hear the stories of the men that fought there. Col. Douds did a fantastic job of connecting the battle to our lives in business.

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