Ray Pellegrini knows that earning an MBA is more than “just business.” Ray translated his education into careers in several fields, but in each case, the lessons he learned in his MBA program have proved invaluable.
After completing a bachelor's degree in economics at University of California, Irvine (UCI), Ray worked in the UCI economics department and taught English in Korea.
While in Korea, Ray began to plan to return to the United States and attend graduate school. Economics trained his mind to think, but he felt it had not trained him to be an active participant in the business world. An MBA was the perfect way to learn business jargon and how businesses should (and should not) operate. Dominican University of California's International MBA in Pacific Basin Studies was a perfect match for him. The international MBA was the “something extra” that he was looking for.
Ray says that the Dominican is a “small school that provided a nice change from my larger undergraduate school.”
Working while attending school allowed Ray to apply what he learned in his MBA classes to his work. After graduating, Ray returned to Korea to teach English. Because he had his MBA, he was able to also teach business courses at Seoul National University of Technology. Ray returned to the United States and to the field of corporate relocation, which combined his interest in international cultures with business.
However, Ray missed the academic environment. He now works as the MBA Academic Advisor at Loyola University Chicago's Graduate School of Business. His professional and educational background helps him to have a “greater appreciation for those who work in various business areas,” and it also helps him to understand his students' curriculum and goals.
He says that earning an MBA has given him more confidence in his work and helps him to understand how businesses operate. In particular, the MBA has changed how he works in a team.
“It has helped me with communication—asking questions and understanding different backgrounds,” Ray says. “It also taught me how to be more efficient in time, energy, and resources.”
After graduating from the University of Dayton in 2000, Ann Bezbatchenko worked as an editor for SRA/McGraw-Hill Companies. She returned to school to obtain a master's degree from The Catholic University of America, where she worked as the Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions for CUA. Ann currently works at Loyola University Chicago's Graduate School of Business as the Director of Admissions.
