The UIU Experience

There are different kinds of stories during the MBA studies. Their UIU experience are fruitful and meaningful.

"All great achievements take time" Karen said

My name is Karen Lo. I am deeply honored to be here today to speak on behalf of the graduating Masters of Business Administration class at Upper Iowa University of 2010.

Before I begin, I would like to thank all the faculties and professors. Thank you so much for your patience and dedication to enrich our MBA learning experience. Also, I would like to thank all our family and friends, because without your encouragements and support we would never reach this remarkable achievement.

“All great achievements take time.” Each of us graduating today has devoted a significant amount of time and effort to earn our degrees. Indeed, further study is a very difficult decision for us full-time working people and we all had significant sacrifices in our lives; working during the day, studying at night and even weekends, and we had to rearrange our lives accordingly.
Apart from that, it has been a truly rewarding experience for us. The experience at UIU far exceeds our expectations because of its reputation, recognition, quality of teaching, and interactive learning environment. All the professors have always encouraged us to share our own experiences and voice our opinions, which have broadened our views of the realistic business situations from different viewpoints in order to effectively transfer our own learning into the workplace.

I still remember that we were required to write a biography to introduce ourselves briefly to the class in the first lesson. I enjoyed reading other students’ biography, because I could see we were pursuing the same direction for the same goal. Today, we have made it and we start a new chapter in our lives as we have been developed and cultivated through our mistakes, new experiences and achievement in the MBA class.

Although, an MBA should not be considered as a “golden ticket” to guarantee us getting a better job, promotion or other successes, it certainly helps us to develop our perspective, professional judgment and self confidence.

One of my instructors told me that “Great opportunities are only for the people who have been well prepared”. We have been well-prepared.

Karen Lo, 2010 MBA Graduate

"UIU has some of the best instructors that I have ever had" Margaret said

My name is Margaret Hsieh. After completing my undergraduate degree in Seattle University, I always knew I would someday achieve a MBA degree, but I had no idea if I could juggle my busy work and school schedules. So, I began to contemplate enrolling in an MBA degree programs. As I started to look into graduate programs a couple of years ago, I found UIU.

In the past two years, I am amazed at how the world could be reduced to such a dynamic and interactive virtual classroom. UIU has some of the best instructors that I have ever had. They provide high quality information which is current and relevant to today’s business environment, and they are committed to being present in an online classroom, not just a ghost who appears to remind us assignment deadlines. Also, I had the opportunity of exchanging ideas with my classmates who were living in different areas, such as Macau and Taiwan. Our studies were a great opportunity for exchanging ideas and cross learning. Besides the high level of course material, UIU MBA program allows us to participate in problem solving and discussions as we would in a traditional classroom. Moreover, thanks to the flexible learning environment, I have experienced a high quality of education while not having to give up my career and family life.

Completing the UIU’s MBA program has had an important impact on me. My confidence has grown and it continues to drive my professional and personal success. Having a master’s degree from a well-respected institution has equipped me for opportunities and challenges in the future. Completing my MBA at UIU does not give me superior money earning power right after graduation, yet it has given me a broader perspective and it has allowed me to see business situations and strategy in a different way than before.

I would recommend the UIU to every friend, neighbor or colleague considering an MBA program. And for those who are still skeptical about online program, I will tell them that UIU’s MBA degree program is not for everyone. I believe it is harder than traditional school because you have to write and contribute a lot more. It is designed for those who can motivate themselves independently, for those who are computer literate, and for those who can contribute significant ideas only.

Two years ago, I dreamed of becoming a MBA graduate. Today, it occurs to me that anyone can dream but only a few can match our determination. Thank you all for two of the best years of my life. Fellow graduates, we did it! Congratulations!

Margaret Hsieh, 2009 MBA Graduate

"Unparalleled on-line learning journey in UIU" Tim said

My name is Tim LI and it is my pleasure to share my unparalleled on-line learning journey in UIU with you. I warn myself I should not exaggerate the good or minimize the bad, if there is any. The best way is I share with you my genuine feelings and experience

In the nutshell, I had a very satisfying and rewarding encounter with UIU for the past two years. I experienced PEACE during my learning with UIU. What does that mean? I don’t mean the outward peace like the world peace. But the inward peace. That means same as I did, you can be rest assured you will enjoy peace of mind and comfort after you choose to continue your studies and education with UIU. More importantly, can I ask you to focus on each letter of the word PEACE – i.e. P, E, A, C and E?

P means Professional. In my past two years, I was all surrounded by professional instructors who come from different countries with different races and cultural backgrounds. Some of them are experienced entrepreneur and some come from prestigious educational institutions. I am most grateful of their dedication, commitment and timely support. Their determination to overcome the cross-cultural and geographical barriers in order to provide quality on-line education are most impressive to me.

E means Enlightenment, in my journey of pursuit knowledge via the online program, I was enlightened by the opinions, feedback and on-line discussions of the instructors. Through these invaluable exposure, increasingly I gain wider and deeper perceptive in different aspects such as managerial decision-making, interpersonal skills at work and continuous improvement through research, just to name a few........ .

A means Acquiring: sound and practical knowledge. It is the natural outcome of the aforesaid that I acquired ........... knowledge ........and it transcends to wisdom in my life finally, I believe.

C means Connection. It came as a surprise to me that a substantial percentage of my classmates came from the Mainland and Taiwan. It provided a golden opportunity to interact with other Chinese intellects in other Chinese communities who are very likely to be our potential business associates. Furthermore, I appreciate the mandatory study group assignment, which provided chances for me to interact with other members of the group and networking with them during and after the course. I can tell you proudly that though the course is finished, we are now still good friends and are still maintaining close contacts. We provide advice and support for each other when we face challenging situation at work. I deeply cherish this kind of connection otherwise I don’t have if I never enrolled this MBA course.

E means as you all guess correctly -- Excellence. Blessed by all the abovementioned essentials, I found myself beginning to excel -- not only academically but also in my working environment surpassed my working counterparts and, with increasing frequency, my boss.

I am confident that your experience with UIU will be at least the same as mine if no better. You will enjoy all the P, E, A, C, E and so ultimately peace of mind that you have made the right choice to enroll into the right university with the expectation of all the benefits of the quality education UIU provides for you for the years to come.

So, our dear new counterparts, let’s get ready for the unparalleled on-line learning journey. Thank you.

Tim Li, 2007 MBA Graduate