Work Together, Study Together and Reap the Rewards Together
Posted on June 10, 2009 by Jennifer Brady
[Shown in photo: Recent graduates Mary K. Gagliastro and Venu Iyer]
This post is a tribute to a couple of our own who have completed their MBA through UMass Amherst Isenberg School of Management with an emphasis on blended and online learning via UMassOnline. Unlike the two UMass employees featured here, some cannot attend the actual ceremony, but your accomplishments are noted and held in high esteem by all.
Mary K. Gagliastro is a Senior Applications Specialist at UMass. Venu Iyer is a Senior Developer at UMass. Both decided to work toward their MBA degree from UMass Amherst by taking online courses… both for the first time. And in late May, also for the first time, both attended their graduation ceremony at UMass Amherst. As Mary put it, “Venu and I figured we ought to graduate together since we went through the whole program together.”
I asked both Mary and Venu two questions: I wanted to know what they thought was the best thing about their online learning experience and what advice would they give prospective students who are considering distance learning?
Mary responded, “There are a few ‘best’ things about distance learning. I have had interactions with students from all over the country as well as the world, from different backgrounds and occupations. There have been soldiers stationed overseas and fellow classmates have been so supportive of the soldiers. I find that having class discussions via discussion board instead of in class offers me the opportunity to think through my answers instead of just having to answer off the top of my head. The discussion board format also lets everyone be heard, there’s no fighting to get the last word in or talking over one another in order to make a point. And you can participate in class discussion in your pajamas!”
With advice for prospective students, she added, “Distance learning can be a really amazing tool to further your education. It allows you to interact with people from around the globe without leaving your home. It affords you the opportunity to work within your own schedule to do class assignments, and doesn’t demand that you are in a certain place at a certain time to participate. However, this program in particular is not self-paced and there are deliverables for all classes. Some classes lend themselves better to online learning. I would advise any student who is considering distance learning to try it out, take a class and see how it works for you. It’s definitely a different way of learning and takes a little time to get used to, but you may be surprised at how connected you do feel even from a distance.”
And Venu’s perspective? “The nature of the online program gave me the opportunity to interact with students from varying geographies within the United States, thus helping me understand diverse cultures and share real-life business scenarios, in a real-time manner. Moreover, the flexibility of the course made it possible for me to pursue my long aspired career ambition- securing an MBA degree. In today’s fast paced economic environment, outsourcing and globalization have been the order of the day! Our work force is now more mobile and is spread across the world, across different time-zones which is now even more challenging, as we need to collaborate with global teams for meeting our project milestones, in a virtual way. Online learning gives you the first taste of our future and helps you prepare for it. The other biggest advantage of the distance learning, is you get the flexibility to strike a good balance between work/home and school. I would highly encourage prospective students to consider distance learning as this has been a great value add to me both professionally and personally.”
Congratulations Mary, Venu and to the thousands of other recent UMass graduates!
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