As one chapter ends, another begins. For the 135 newly minted Executive MBA alumni, the hard-earned next chapter follows two challenging academic years for the group as a whole, as well as each individual student.
On Sunday, March 12, at its commencement ceremony at the Wharton Center for Performing Arts, the EMBA cohort celebrated their achievements and bid farewell to their time together at the Broad College of Business as they turn the page to their next chapters. The Broad College welcomed Linda Blair, CEO and president of ITC Holdings and EMBA alumna, as the guest commencement speaker. “Don’t give up on learning, particularly in the business world,” she said in her address. “And when you translate your EMBA into the world – it’s not the end, it’s the beginning of a new journey,” Blair said.
51st Executive MBA Class of 2017 Graduation at the Wharton Center March 12, 2017. [MATTHEW DAE SMITH | for the Broad College of Business]
Speaking on behalf of the East Lansing cohort was Jordan Hankwitz, director of the Senate Business Office in the State of Michigan Senate. “Stepping out of our comfortable lives, jobs, and routines to take on this new challenge in higher education was for many of us a monumental leap and something I truly hope pays off for each and every one of you,” Hankwitz said. “Our cohort comes from very diverse personal and professional backgrounds, making it impossible to avoid hearing opinions that differ from my own. These diverse opinions were welcomed and made us better as a class. I have learned a lot from those in my team and in my class,” he said.
During their two years, students participated in social impact projects and case competitions, and had the opportunity to step outside of the classroom and go global, studying abroad in Argentina, India, and South Africa. Reflecting on his own journey and global experiences, Troy speaker Eric Hulsemann, director of project management at La-Z-Boy, discussed that in the last 20 months, he learned so much more than business curriculum. “Our EMBA was much more than an academic exercise: academics were really the means to an end. The end is to develop of a new, holistic way of thinking about the market, competition, businesses, and our own businesses in particular. Mastering leadership skills and entrepreneurial thinking capped our experience off,” he said.
51st Executive MBA Class of 2017 Graduation at the Wharton Center March 12, 2017. [MATTHEW DAE SMITH | for the Broad College of Business]
Each student began his or her EMBA chapters from different paths and will begin their next by heading separate ways. As Hulsemann noted: regardless of where alumni choose as their next chapter, they leave fundamentally changed and prepared to apply what they spent two years cultivating to make a profound impact.