Learn With Purpose: In my own words

For me, learning with purpose means to never sell yourself short.

In our culture, it’s as if getting an undergrad degree is simply what is expected, even when we don’t know what we want to do. I think that leads to a lot of settling for what you have, rather than aspiring for what you want. Everyone deserves the chance to be their best selves, and the CU Denver Business School delivers the opportunities to do just that.

After I graduated in 2010 from CU-Boulder with a degree in broadcast journalism, I was lucky enough to find a great job. Clarkson Creative, a Denver-based production company, took me on as a producer and editor for their video-based projects. In four years, I’ve moved up within the company to Creative Director, which has allowed me to further embrace my creativity. I love my job; but I wanted to keep growing in my career.

I’ve been in the Business School’s MBA program for the past year and a half, and I’ve already been able to apply what I’ve learned in class to my job at Clarkson Creative. With classes at night or online, I’m still able to work full time, and even have stepped up to more of a managerial role for the company while I was working on my degree. Whether it’s in my day-to-day tasks or in my role inventing new ideas for the future, my General Manager has given me more responsibilities, which opens doors for my career.

For the first time in my educational journey, I’m not necessarily focusing on the grades; instead, it’s about learning. I’m back in school for a bigger purpose than a high GPA or a solid transcript. I’m doing this for myself. I have goals of reaching even greater heights in my career, and I know that with the help of the university, I’ll achieve them.

There’s an ad on the side of the Business School building​ that I see every day that says, “You can work for what you want, or settle for what you have.” CU Denver inspires me to aim higher, both for now and my future.