Corbie Adams received quite a return not long after she started the Master of Business Administration hybrid program at Henderson State University.
She landed a full-time position as an admissions counselor at HSU in September 2020, less than one month into the program.
Her mentor, MBA program director Dr. Lonnie Jackson, had told her about the merits of an HSU MBA and had suggested finding a graduate assistant position that would help her pay for her master’s degree through part-time work.
“I was doing that until the admissions counselor position opened,” she said. “As I am a full-time employee at the college, my tuition is also covered.”
Adams graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration three months before enrolling in the MBA program. She played tennis for the Reddies for two years and completed a marketing internship in the HSU athletic department.
“When I came to Henderson State, I talked to Jennifer Sigman, the director of the Center for Student Excellence in the School of Business,” she said. “She took me under her wing and explained the different classes.
“I immediately fell in love with it because they gave me the one-on-one attention I needed. As a new student not knowing anyone here, I felt at home in the School of Business. It was nice.”
Strong Service
Adams was born and raised in southern California, where she earned an associate degree at Mt. San Jacinto College. She also played tennis for two years for the Eagles.
“When I transferred to Henderson State, I fell in love with the college,” she said. “My parents, Jim and Cindee, both went to school here. I followed my dad’s path. He went to Mt. San Jacinto and played tennis, then he came to Henderson State and played tennis.”
Although Adams has only taken ACC 6123: Accounting for Business and Management and FIN 6113: Managerial Finance in the MBA program, she looks forward to Dr. Jackson’s MGM 6183: Managerial Leadership and Ethics course.
“He is a great teacher,” she said. “The professors are great about getting back to me if I have a question. The School of Business is unique because it’s such a small college that you have that one-on-one attention from the professors.
Adams prepared for the MBA program in HSU’s MBA Bootcamp. The coursework in the hybrid program is all online, but each class also meets twice a month in person.
“With everything going on with COVID-19, our teachers don’t do in-person office hours as much,” she said. “It’s good to have those virtual office hours in the MBA program.”
Her experience as an online learner at Mt. San Jacinto College put her in a good spot for her MBA coursework.
“My senior year, I had two in-person classes and three online, so I am quite comfortable with the online atmosphere,” she said.
Acing It
Nearly everybody in Adams’ family is an educator, but she wants to take a different career route. She gained valuable experience as president of the student government association at Mt. San Jacinto.
“When I left, I was hoping to go back and work there,” she said. “The president told me he would hire me. That experience made me want to do more on campus at Henderson State.
Adams expects the MBA will open up new opportunities once she graduates, and she is keeping her options open.
“I would like to pursue my doctorate, get into student services and work my way up in college administration.”
She hopes that once the pandemic ends, she can pick up where she left off with her passion for traveling. She visited all 50 U.S. states by the time she was 16 years old and has been to more than 20 countries.
“My dad was a police officer,” she said. “He took off two weeks to a month every year and we would travel. My parents are both happy and supportive of me getting an MBA — especially at Henderson State.”
On track to complete the program in 2022, Adams also hopes to be able to walk in a commencement ceremony at HSU after missing out on that experience as an undergrad. Either way, she knows that she will have a quality education to her name and real-world experience under her belt when that day arrives.
“It’s exciting that I will have an MBA and years of job experience when I graduate from Henderson State,” she said. “I was planning to get my MBA to land a job like this. Instead, I have been able to land this job while just starting my MBA. I am extremely blessed.”
Learn more about Henderson State University’s online MBA programs.
