Ashley Parham remembers the first time she heard of a deferred Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. She was attending a webinar as part of the Fort茅 Rising Stars program at 星空传媒鈥檚 Weatherhead School of Management. On the webinar, representatives from some of the top universities in the country explained the different programs and the benefits that they offered to students.
Through the webinar, Parham, a fourth-year accounting major, made a connection with the director at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania who she's now been in touch with for the last two years.
Weatherhead became an undergrad partner school with the Fort茅 Foundation in 2019. As a partner school, female-identifying undergraduate students have free access to the Fort茅 Rising Stars program, which focuses on launching women into fulfilling careers through access to business education, professional development and a community of successful women.
Parham is expected to graduate with her bachelor鈥檚 degree this spring and has a summer internship lined up at Ernst & Young in Cleveland. In the fall, she will return to Weatherhead to complete her Master of Accountancy degree. She plans to begin applying for deferred MBA programs next year with the goal of receiving a year or two of full-time work experience before returning to school for her MBA degree.
鈥淭hat webinar gave me a solid foundation to know what programs are out there and which ones are a good fit for me,鈥 she said.
Fort茅 has more than 100,000 members and over 50 influential companies across the globe as partners.
鈥淭o be able to offer this program at no cost to students, is truly a fantastic opportunity,鈥 said Laura Bentley, staff advisor to the program on campus. 鈥淭he opportunities that participants have to engage with top employers is priceless.鈥
Among the resources the program offers are networking opportunities with well-known universities and employers, webinars focused on professional development skills, national conferences and a mentoring program.
As a first-year student, Parham attended Fort茅鈥檚 National Campus to Business Leadership Conference in Chicago, where she took part in different learning sessions鈥撯搊ne on technical skills and another on personal brand鈥撯揳nd she went to a networking session where she met with representatives from Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and the University of Virginia.
Through the mentoring program, second-year accounting student, Sai Mamidi, was able to connect with a woman who graduated from New York University and has worked through the Big Four accounting firms as a consultant. She also was connected with a graduate school admission officer from Columbia University.
鈥淔ort茅 has given me a lot of hope for the future,鈥 said Mamidi. 鈥淲hat was really encouraging was to be connected with a group of women from a bunch of different schools. It鈥檚 nice to always have that foot in the door and that support system.鈥
Students can also receive a Fort茅 Career Ready Certificate by completing various modules and reading articles that touch upon career readiness, such as interview and resume skills.
鈥淚t was really flexible toward my schedule to complete the certificate,鈥 said Mamidi. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something you do on your own time.鈥
鈥淚t's a very low time commitment and it鈥檚 what you make of it,鈥 Bentley added, as much of the program is self guided and students can choose which webinars and opportunities that they鈥檇 like to be a part of. 鈥溞强沾 students continue to excel academically and professionally and this program is a unique way for students to continue to fine tune and showcase their skills.鈥
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Reach out to Laura Bentley with any questions or to join the program.