Originally posted by Jordan Fujiwara.

Meghan Hapgood has experienced an interesting role reversal in taking this MBA. That’s because she was a full-time teacher before she decided to get on this rollercoaster! She is from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and has a BSc in Biology, Math minor, from Dalhousie as well as a Bachelor of Education degree from Acadia.

To Meghan, the process of applying and starting the program was definitely comparable to a thrill ride: “When I was applying and writing the GMAT I was going through crazy changes in my life. I wrote the GMAT ten days after getting married. By the end of the first month of classes I had searched for and bought a new house in Halifax. I had been used to having a predictable schedule and paycheque. Making the switch was a big challenge!” I can imagine. You can probably imagine that making the choice to do this MBA wasn’t an easy one for Meghan. She agrees: “When I decided to do this program I felt like I was taking a fairly big risk. I quit my job, sold my house, and packed up to move to another province … to do all that and then do something that was brand new [i.e. this program] and to pay thousands to do it… that’s pretty scary. I definitely had reservations about the risk then….”

Have you ever gotten on a rollercoaster and been on the first chain-assisted ride up to the primary drop? Have you ever noticed the height and considered the physics and reality of what you were doing and thought: “What have I gotten myself into?” Well, imagine that feeling if you will, and then pretend you are on the first-ever test run for said rollercoaster (and the ticket cost tens of thousands of dollars). This is how I analogize Meghan’s initial apprehension. I came up with this after she left our interview so hopefully she agrees with it.

Sticking with that analogy, she’s currently over the first few dips and curves and speeding along at an impressive rate. What does she think now? “It feels so good to look back and say that I have zero regrets! In total, I have been in university going on eight years. I can totally and honestly say that the quality of teaching and the quality of our classmates is the highest I’ve experienced. I’d like to think that means something coming from a former teacher!” She attributes her success in adjusting to using time- and conflict-management skills she honed as a teacher, as well as having a very understanding husband.

Looks like that ticket price is shaping up to be worth it! She agrees that she’s already seen a return on her investment (to use business-speak). Speaking of business, let’s look at Meghan’s corporate residency. Her role is “Regional Program Support” at the Canada Revenue Agency’s regional office in Halifax. To help us understand her job Meghan gave me a crash course on the CRA’s organization: It has several different programs that are delivered across the country, such as the Small and Medium Enterprise Program or the International and Large Business Program. Each program has a governing body in Ottawa that needs to communicate with offices spread throughout five regions in Canada. Every program is attached to a Program Advisor (PA) who, among other things, acts as a liaison between the local field offices and Ottawa. So here in Halifax, there are PAs who handle all of the programs applicable to the Atlantic Region. Usually PAs are responsible for more than one program, and each program has any number of projects that need attention. Unfortunately, the work life of a PA is a busy one, so Meghan’s role is to help ease some pressure and tackle very real projects that the PAs in the region have shared with her. “It’s a far cry from being asked to make photocopies,” she says triumphantly.

Her day-to-day activities might include preparing presentations for the Regional Director, attending meetings to provide a fresh perspective on whatever topic is at hand, or participating in regional research initiatives. She says lots of interesting things have happened to her, but she is not at liberty to disclose the details, except that she has done some very exciting work on topics like the ‘underground economy’. How mysterious! She was able to mention that she created a new Excel template for regional budget allocation. It was well received and will hopefully become a standard in the associated regional program for years to come. Good job, Meghan!

I asked her about the culture of the place, and she adamantly said: “There’s often a perception out there that government employees don’t work as hard as others. I don’t believe that anyway, but I’ve found that in the CRA, since the image the agency portrays is very important and visible [to the public], they really adhere to a culture of professionalism; my coworkers pay great attention to detail yet the atmosphere is laid back at the same time.”

Looks like this rollercoaster ride has shaped up to be pretty amazing for Meghan. The second “run” starts in July when the new batch of accepted students will arrive on campus. I foresee a sizable line-up at the ticket booth in the very near future…