Kelley Direct is proud to partner with the Forté Foundation, a women’s leadership organization whose mission is to launch women into fulfilling, significant careers through access to business education, professional development, and a community of successful women in business. Our partnership offers Kelley Direct students a free Professional Access Membership which gives unique access to… Read more »
Kelley Direct
Meet our Spring Cohort Kelley Direct students—Q&A with Kara Plotz
Kelley Direct students begin their online MBA for various reasons; they want to advance in their careers, switch careers, or want more knowledge and fulfillment. Kara Plotz, a Senior Manager of Operations at National Veterinary Associates, shares her why for joining the Spring Cohort. What are your career highlights? “I have moved from a practicing… Read more »
Meet our Spring Cohort Kelley Direct students—Q&A with Michelle Braun
Kelley Direct students begin their online MBA for various reasons. In this series, you’ll meet some of our students and learn why they have decided to take this step and enroll with Kelley Direct! Michelle Braun, a Neuropsychologist with Ascension Healthcare, shares how she thinks the Kelley Direct program can help her meet some big… Read more »
Meet our Spring Cohort Kelley Direct students—Q&A with Guru Lakshmi Narsimhan
Kelley Direct students begin their MBA for various reasons; they want to advance in their career, switch careers, or want more knowledge and fulfillment. Guru Lakshmi Narsimhan, a Production Manager and Missiles Systems Ensign at Bickford Aerospace and Defense, wants to transition from engineer work to a management role. What are your career highlights? “My… Read more »
Kelley Coin Winner: Hank Swearingen, MBA’22
I received my Kelley Coin for being a member of the winning team from the first Kelley Connect Week in Summer 2020: Navigating a COVID-19 World. Several weeks of learning from experts about the challenges of the pandemic and the business of healthcare culminated in a 72-hour entrepreneurial idea sprint. Each team was tasked with… Read more »
Kelley Coin Winner: Robert Moore
I received a Kelley Coin for winning a case competition in which my team and I were tasked with finding a new strategic venture for NetJets, Inc., the private airline company. My role was to coordinate and solve problems – a role made even easier because I worked with some fantastically smart and innovative teammates… Read more »
Kelley Coin Winner: Punyatoya Mohapatra, MBA’22
Hard work, dedication, and resilience are hallmarks of my Kelley Direct career with Kelly Coin as one of the best memories. I started my MBA right before the Covid-19 pandemic and can’t believe I’m graduating in a month. I decided to pursue my MBA to expand my knowledge in people and business beyond my R&D… Read more »
Choosing the right MBA program: get tips from Kelley professor Carolyn Goerner
By Mary Thomason-Smith Want to know if you’ll thrive in the Kelley Direct Online MBA Program? In a recent episode of the Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast, Kelley School of Business Clinical Professor of Management Carolyn Goerner shared insights on how to select an MBA program. Start with you Reflect on how your strengths align… Read more »
Brittany Woods, Senior Business Consultant, Liberty Mutual
I joined my current organization – Liberty Mutual – in my last semester of college. I quickly realized my humanities undergraduate degree taught me to read, write, and speak critically, but it did not provide the business acumen needed to advance my career in a corporate setting. I didn’t always have the right words to… Read more »
Dennis Willette, Director of Operations, Maintech, Inc.

I fell into what I’m doing for work today – Director of Operations at an IT infrastructure services firm – largely by accident. I studied film as a Yale undergraduate and aspired to become a writer and filmmaker. Early on, I juggled various corporate jobs while writing and attempting to sell screenplays. When I finally… Read more »