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 »
Online MBA Student
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 certain business implications culminated in a 72-hour entrepreneurial idea sprint. Each team was tasked with developing… Read more »
Kelley Coin Winner: Nicholas Prazuch
Throughout my time in the Kelley Direct online MBA program, I received two Kelley Coins. Both coins I won for group project experiences, which highlights Kelley Direct’s emphasis on collaboration to achieve success. Wining these coins are great badges of honor and represent the hard work my teams and I put into these projects. The… 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 »
Before you choose an online 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 shares how to find the answer. Start with you Reflect on how your strengths align with five student… 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 »
Top questions to ask online MBA admissions officers
Finding the right online MBA program takes time and research. You scour websites. You get recommendations from friends and colleagues. Then a few programs rise to the top of your list. Now what? Talk to the MBA admissions officers. “We know the MBA program inside and out,” said Abigail Harris, associate director of admissions for… Read more »
Michael Brown, General Manager, PMI Feed Additives, Land O’ Lakes
A few years ago, I faced a crucial decision in my career. I wanted to expand my role into realms outside of supply chain to position myself for a full P&L role in the future. I knew an MBA would help me gain the strategic thinking required to apply methodologies I would learn into real… Read more »