Share.Learn.Inspire.Transform
“One constant exists in today’s work environment – change. In the past three years, the typical organization has undertaken five enterprise changes: cultural change, restructuring, market expansion, leadership transition, or a merger or acquisition. Two-thirds of these changes fail to deliver against their stated goals, and they are also not happening quickly enough.” (July 2020)
– Lisa Colangelo, Dalhousie MBA (L), Class of 2022-
Lisa Colangelo, Dalhousie MBA (L)
Class of 2022
“Dalhousie was a “no brainer” for any excuse to get back to Halifax more often to see my family was a serendipitous bonus. Being a proud Haligonian, Dalhousie was my university of choice. Working in Ottawa, I have always enjoyed spreading the word within my network about all the amazing sites Halifax has to offer. Now, I have the added benefit of being able to share the Dalhousie experience of learning and connecting with students, graduates, and professors.”
– Erin Morgan Donnelly, MBA(L), Class of 2020-
Erin Morgan Donnelly MBA Leadership Class of 2020
“The distance learning model used by Centre for Executive and Graduate Education for their MBA programs made it easy to schedule my own time, without having to attend a series of regular classes. I was able to study when I wanted, and still maintain a personal life…The MBA(Leadership) positioned me to identify and employ strategic thinking and planning, skillsets necessary to evaluate and explore solutions for complex situations.”
– Krista Phillips, MBA(L), Class of 2020-
Krista Phillips MBA(Leadership) Class of 2020
Read Krista’s full article here
“I acquired an interest in business and finance. Meeting up with others who had achieved an MBA allowed me to explore avenues in which I could expand my knowledge in these areas. I was consistently stuck by the breadth and depth of business, finance and economic knowledge expressed in conversations about the future of companies such as BlackBerry and Tesla or how cryptocurrencies and blockchains might evolve. Working within the analytics team at Dalhousie University, I soon recognized the opportunity to work and learn at the same time. With my technical expertise and considerable experience as a data analyst, I realized that an MBA in Leadership would augment my skills and present me with an excellent opportunity to grow as an individual and give back to the greater community.”
-Tom Connell, MBA(L), Class of 2020-
Tom Connell, MBA (L), Class of 2020
“The Blended MBA program provides a unique experience in combining the flexibility of a program offered via distance with the engagement of an ‘in-person’ offering through intensives that match each course. This unique offering is what piqued my interest, and ultimately led to my decision to choose the Blended MBA program.”
-Andrea Muenster, MBA(L) Candidate, Class of 2022-
Andrea Muenster, MBA(L) Candidate, (Class of 2022)
Photo Provided
“As I head into my last year in the Dal MBA program, there are several lessons I’ve learned that have enriched my work, life and learning experience. Create your balance. Connect & Collaborate. Participate in debate. Have fun”.
-Anthony Ricci, MBA(L) Candidate, Class of 2022-
Anthony Ricci, MBA(L) Candidate (Class of 2022)
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Read Anthony’s full article here
“In my final few courses of the MBA Leadership program and I could not be prouder of this accomplishment. I started on this journey in the winter of 2016 and expect to graduate in the spring of 2022. When I decided to pursue a Master’s degree, I considered several other Universities, however it was the blended program delivery and the flexibility at Dalhousie that was the deciding factor. A key part of my decision-making process was the work life balance”.
-Judith Chambers, MBA(L) Candidate, Class of 2022-
Judith Chambers, MBA(L) Candidate (Class of 2022)
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“As I reflect on my experiences at DAL, the continued education has been a rewarding experience. I first started in 2019 not knowing what to expect of graduate level studies. Being able to work and study (and do it well) was important to me. As I am nearing the end of the program, I have a more wholistic lens on my academic experience and how it relates to the work I do everyday”.
-Andrew Bonomo, MBA(L) Candidate, Class of 2022-
Andrew Bonomo, MBA(L) Candidate (Class of 2022)
Photo Provided
“It’s been a busy 5 years, but I have enjoyed my experience at Dalhousie a great deal. Besides the curriculum, the relationships built and the networking throughout the program with varying perspectives enhanced the learning greatly. Here’s to the future everyone!”
-Steven Cowan, MBA(L), Class of 2021-
Steven Cowan, MBA(L), Class of 2021
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“…resiliency is developed by moving through complex situations without being prepared”.
Matt Allen, MBA(L), Class of 2021
Matt Allen, MBA(L), Class of 2021
Matt Allen has been keeping busy since graduating from Dalhousie’s CEGE MBA, Leadership program in 2021. Like many recent Alumni, Matt has had to quickly adjust to a new pace of life as he figures out his next steps and anticipates his new journey.
Matt shares with CEGE Connection what it felt like to accomplish his MBA, what his immediate plans were once he graduated, and his biggest transition to come into fatherhood. Matt has agreed to share more with us as his learnings continue.
Matt Allen
It has been approximately six months since I last logged in to Brightspace, where I dragged and dropped my final paper into the assignment box and hit submit to cap off my Dalhousie MBA. After clicking submit, I felt fulfilled knowing I completed the goal I sought out to accomplish; however, what came next? I felt as though I had three years of catch up to complete all while putting the information buzzing around in my head into action in the workplace. I really had no idea what to do next, so I did what any of my colleagues would have done. I tried to do it all.
First, I immediately took a vacation to spend some time with my wife and family to catch up on time I had put on hold for the past three years, I developed a strategy within my group at my organization to increase the value within our roles and started to deploy said strategy, and last but most important, I had to quickly figure out how to be a father as my wife was wrapping up her first trimester of pregnancy. What seemed like a huge weight off my shoulders was more in line with the words of one of my classmates, “When you think you are complete and done, really you are only 33% of the way there.” (Kyle Nickason – 2021 Valedictorian)
In the months following August 2021, I exhausted myself trying to keep busy while transitioning back to a regular non-graduate student type of life, and it took me several months to do so and get into a rhythm. For the first month or so I would come home from work by opening the door to my second bedroom and wonder what I needed to get done that evening to make sure I was not behind in the rest of my life. On top of that my workplace was preparing for me to return to normalcy with a long list of surprise to do’s that popped up from the new owner of our organization, as our company was recently purchased and being taken private in the fall of 2021. While I had anticipated life getting back to normal after I completed my MBA, it had other plans in place.
Looking back on August 2021, I overlooked the upcoming COVID challenges associated with the Omnicom variant, delayed my value creation strategy as the organization I was a part of switched ownership and transitioned its mission, and prepared for fatherhood as I was completely clueless to what I needed to know and still am to some degree on what I can do as a male to support the birth of a child I can only feel kick through my wife’s belly.
From these last six months, I learned that planning has its limitations, and that resiliency is developed by moving through complex situations without being prepared. How you figure things out on the fly and the attitude you bring to the table are the only two ingredients you can have in times of transition. These are skills that I did not know that I learned throughout my MBA journey; however, are things that I am much better at dealing with now that I have my MBA because I practiced these for the last three years!