Once Thomas White graduates from the online Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at Radford University in May 2023, he plans on going global.
“Radford has a program where once you get your MBA, you can continue to get a Doctorate of Business Administration, which is set up in France,” he said. “That’s the next step for me.”
White also recently began a teaching assistant position at the university. He believes the online master’s degree program is already providing him with a valuable foundation of global business knowledge.
“This program, specifically, has so many foreign professors who bring in that background to give me a global business perspective and exposure to different cultures and practices,” he said. “I enjoy learning from them.”
Before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Radford in December 2020, White enrolled in a course in the online MBA program to get a head start.
“The desire to get an MBA came along while I was an undergrad,” he said. “With the accelerated MBA program, you can start taking a course or two as an undergraduate.
“That introduced me to the program and got me to stay in it, but continuing my higher education was the plan.”
The flexibility of the online format is especially beneficial now that White is taking on teaching assistant duties, too.
“The program has seven-week courses, so each one is shrunken down from the normal course length,” he said. “You have a mid-term about four weeks in. I like it.
“You get a lot more done, and it accelerates the program while giving you flexibility with your schedule outside of school.”
Bonjour, Business World
White is from Beatrice, Nebraska, where he played basketball in high school. His brother, Patrick, is a U. S. Marine stationed in North Carolina.
“He said he liked the east coast, so moving started off there,” he said. “I started narrowing down states, one by one. I ended up in Roanoke, Virginia, and Radford was close by.”
As for majoring in business administration and management, White parlayed his love of athletics into a solid career goal.
“A management position is like the head coach of a football team, assembling a group of people and generating the best results possible based on human interaction,” he said. “That initially attracted me to business.”
As an undergrad, White completed online courses that helped him seamlessly transition to the fully online master’s degree program.
“Taking those courses during the bachelor’s degree program helped a lot with what I am doing now,” he said. “I was set on staying at Radford for grad school.
“Being a teaching assistant is still pretty new to me. I’m getting more into research and learning more about it, so the online format helps with that, too.”
White took a special topics course about artificial intelligence and automation that he enjoyed. So far, his favorite course in the online MBA program curriculum is International Finance, an elective.
“It opens the mind to travel, be aware and work in a foreign country,” he said. “Ideally, I’d like to do that someday.”
White said that the faculty and staff at Radford are supportive of online students and eager to help them in any way possible.
“Any time I have a question about one of my courses, the professors are good about getting back to me with an answer quickly,” he said. “One of the best things about Radford is it’s personable. All of my professors know me by name.”
Merci Beaucoup
White is a first-generation college student who thrives on learning and has the encouragement of his family and friends as he quenches that thirst for knowledge.
“My parents, Darrell and AmySue, are proud of me for going to college and getting a degree,” he said. “I am sure that I will walk in the commencement ceremony when I complete the MBA program.”
Even if White continues onto the doctoral program in Europe, he has a good idea of the type of career he hopes to launch someday.
“I’d like to be a financial analyst,” he said. “My end goal is to be executive management. The MBA will help pave the way for me to get there.”
White, who enjoys reading and studying political philosophy in his free time, said that staying on top of schoolwork is the key to success as an online student.
“Having time-management skills is the biggest thing,” he said. “Especially with the seven-week courses, you have to be ready to grind it out a little bit.”
As White continues the online MBA program, he believes he will be ready for anything the business world throws at him.
“I have received good value from the MBA program,” he said. “The blend of theory and practice is nice. Then, to meet influential people like CEOs and Congressmen has been interesting. It’s been a good experience.”
Learn more about Radford University’s online MBA program.
