Get a Kelley MBA—in the Big Apple
Hoosier native Jennifer Carrel is on the fast track in New York City. She moved there right after college and
worked a variety of jobs before becoming director of knowledge management at Perkins Eastman, an international architecture, urban design, and interior design firm.
She's always dreamed of starting her own business, and knew an MBA would be invaluable. And that's where the Kelley School's online MBA program, Kelley Direct, comes in.
"I knew I didn't want to leave New York or quit my job to go to school full time. I wanted a top school—that was big," says Carrel, who has opted for the three-year dual MBA/MS in Strategic Management degree. "When I found the Kelley Direct program, I knew right away it was the right choice: a top school, affordable, offering a quality education with the flexibility I wanted. I chose the dual degree program because I'm really interested in strategic management and wanted to add that to my toolbox." She is currently launching a holistic heath and lifestyle business, Growing WELLthy, focusing on helping professional women achieve their health and financial goals. And she looks forward to helping other companies with their strategic planning processes in a consulting capacity in the future.
Carrel says she is most impressed with the quality of her education. "Even though Kelley Direct is an online program, it is still taught by all the same tenured professors as the full-time MBA program. I'm getting the same access, and it's the same program. There are a lot of schools doing these online MBAs, and they don't have the same standards in teaching and faculty as the Kelley Direct program."
Carrel has enjoyed interacting with her Kelley Direct classmates, and is founding president of Kelley Direct Women MBAs (KDWMBAs). This professional group, organized and run by students, strives to enhance the Kelley Direct experience for women students through a monthly e-mail newsletter and the relationship-building Buddy Program, which pairs first-year students with second-year students or alumni. "This group really bridges the distance gap for the women in the Kelley Direct program," says Carrel. "I've gotten to know quite a few of my women classmates through KDWMBAs and we talk on the phone and via e-mail. I think this group has really helped solidify those relationships."
In Brief
Which business leader do you most admire?
"Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop" (a cosmetics company dedicated to producing and retailing ethical beauty products).
What advice do you have for someone about to embark on the Kelley Direct MBA?
"Don't underestimate the commitment and the challenge."
What do you do for fun?
"I enjoy cooking, rollerblading, swimming, biking, and sewing—I like to design my own clothing."
