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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TN (Feb. 4, 2011) — It was supposed to be an exciting time in Jessica Shelton’s career.
After earning an undergraduate degree in health care administration and completing an internship at Holston Valley Medical Center, Shelton found a corporate position in the quality and safety department of a local health care company and was working toward a management position. But in 2008, she received the news no employee wants to hear — her employer was eliminating her position.
With that frightening and unexpected announcement, Shelton, of Gray, Tenn., was unemployed. But she was at the right place at the right time for this turning point in her career.
Before she knew she would be laid off, Shelton applied and was accepted into Milligan College’s Master of Business Administration program. Designed to prepare students for leadership roles in business, Milligan’s 14-month MBA program is created for working professionals. Curriculum is delivered online, with students completing one residency Saturday per month on the campus of Milligan College or Walters State Community College in Morristown, Tenn.
One of the residency weekends proved pivotal for Shelton, who had learned she lost her job just weeks into the MBA program. She decided to continue her graduate studies despite her changed circumstances — a decision she is thankful for today.
“It was more important than ever before for me to get my MBA,” Shelton said. “I remember that very first on-campus MBA class when we had to make a presentation about where we worked. At that time, I had to share that I had just been laid off. It was a tough time, but I was where I needed to be.”
After hearing her story, Shelton’s MBA cohort rallied around her to help her find another position in her field. Several of her classmates worked at Mountain States Health Alliance and alerted her when positions became available there. By January of 2009, about four months after she was laid off, Shelton got a job at MSHA. That job eventually led to another position in MSHA’s finance department.
“My cohort and the Milligan faculty were my support group during this really scary time,” Shelton said. “They encouraged me and gave me networking opportunities that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.”
Shelton completed the MBA in the spring of 2010, and has recently accepted a new position that brings her one step closer to her goal of becoming a nursing home administrator. She is now an administrator in training at Asbury Center at Baysmont nursing home in Kingsport.
“This position is a good fit because it gives me the opportunity to move into a management role,” Shelton said. “If you had asked me two years when I was laid off if this is where I thought I’d be now, I’d say I didn’t know. But this is where I always hoped to be, and I am so grateful to Milligan’s MBA program for giving me the skills I needed to make it happen.”
Shelton still keeps in touch with members of her MBA cohort and continues to be grateful for the time of professional and personal development at Milligan.
“Jessica’s story sums up what we want the MBA program to be for our students,” said Courtney Kieslich, director of graduate admissions for Milligan’s MBA. “Milligan’s MBA program has a strong reputation and solid relationships in the business community. And because the program is cohort-based with students progressing through their coursework together, we often see close-knit groups form.
“The students are able to draw from our knowledgeable faculty, their classmates’ experiences and a curriculum that teaches business leadership from a Christian perspective.”
New cohorts begin every fall and spring semester on the Milligan campus and each fall on the Walters State campus. Applications are currently being accepted for the spring cohort, which begins March 20. The application deadline is Feb. 15. For more information, email MBA@milligan.edu or call 423.461.8482.