How Women in the Michigan Ross PTMBA Programs are Mastering Work-Life Integration

Below, members of the Weekend MBA and Online MBA Programs share how they’ve been able to weave an education into their schedules, how they’ve been supported by other women in the Ross community, and how they intend to leverage their Michigan Ross MBA to advance their careers.

Laura Perkovic, WMBA

Why did you choose a Michigan Ross WMBA?
The WMBA schedule minimizes time off work and allows me to spend time on campus with professors and cohorts, which is important to me as a 100% remote worker. I like the cohort age, industry, and diversity in the WMBA Program. I enjoy making friends with people outside my demographic and industry and learning more about their values and workstyles.

How do you intend to leverage your Ross MBA in the future?
My in-house general counsel role involves more than practicing law; it requires broad substantive business knowledge and a strong leadership skill set. I want to leverage my MBA to obtain a general counsel position with larger and more complex organizations or fast-growing startups in the healthcare sector. I am also interested in an eventual lateral transition out of the legal seat and into a strategic leadership role.

How do you balance work, life, and family?
Life priorities shuffle from time to time, and I am mid-shuffle. At this stage in my career and as an empty nester, I have more time to focus on myself. Also, I am in a phase where I am shedding complexities — looking to downsize the home, purge belongings, and simplify my day-to-day burdens to make more room for joy and personal growth. 

How do women support each other within the program?
Women see each other as competent allies here. I think all cohorts support and accommodate each other's family and professional responsibilities.

What advice would you have for women thinking about getting their MBA while working?
You deserve it. If you have the drive, go for it now. You will appreciate pausing life in the trenches of your present job to get a 10,000-foot view of business operations, strategy, and emerging markets and to watch yourself grow into a balanced, thoughtful, and genuinely competent leader and strategist.

Is there anything else you would like to share about your experience?
Be intentional about renewal and rest, and make that time sacred, even for a few minutes every day. 

Irsha Pardeshi, PhD, OMBA

Why did you choose a Michigan Ross OMBA?
I have a doctorate in aerospace engineering and have held highly technical positions in the industry. Through my professional experience, I gathered that along with technical knowledge, it is important to understand the business know-how to step up in leadership roles. I was curious to understand how businesses make strategic decisions for growth and expansion. Hence, I decided to pursue an MBA. I chose Michigan Ross for my MBA journey because it is a top-tier school that offers world-class education. Specifically, I was attracted to the OMBA option as it gave me the flexibility to manage my family life as well as my full-time work.

How do you intend to leverage your Ross MBA in the future?
I plan to be an entrepreneur and use my MBA knowledge to do so. Ross MBA has equipped me with the necessary business skills and provided action-based learning to apply the knowledge in real-life scenarios. 

How do you balance work, life, and family? 
Prioritization and strategic planning are the key elements that I practiced throughout my MBA journey. It would not have been possible to put these elements into practice without the support of my spouse. Self-determination, along with my support system, made it possible for me to balance work, life, and family. 

How do women support each other within the program?
There are lots of opportunities to connect with other women in the program — including the OMBA student council and an OMBA womens’ group in Slack — that allow us to share program experiences with each other. 

What advice would you have for women thinking about getting their MBA while working?
My advice to women thinking about getting their MBA while working would be to not question yourself by thinking, “How can I do it all?” (balancing work, family, education). Believe in yourself and build your support system. Leverage your support system when needed and soar high with determination and dedication to achieve your goals. An MBA will equip you with business knowledge as well as open new doors either to leadership roles in an organization or to entrepreneurial careers. 

Is there anything else you would like to share about your experience?
The Ross MBA Program is truly exceptional and has broadened my perspective a lot. It has given me confidence and made me bold enough to have holistic conversations in my career.

Ashley O’Brien, OMBA

Why did you choose a Michigan Ross OMBA?
I’ve had the goal of getting my MBA for years. After COVID and having my son (who was eight months old when I applied), I thought I was getting too old, it was too late for me, or it wasn’t possible to start a family, work, and get an MBA. I was looking at part-time programs and discovered the Ross Online MBA. It was the perfect mix of asynchronous classes, synchronous or on-campus time, and the flexibility I needed to be the mom and student I wanted to be.

It was important to me to be challenged with the academic rigor of a program like the Ross OMBA, connect with a strong network of alumni, participate in global learning opportunities, and learn in a highly supportive environment where my diverse background would be valued. I found all these and more at Ross. Lastly, while I was looking at various programs, I talked with several student ambassadors in the Ross OMBA Program who gave great insight into the program and how they manage business school and other commitments such as work and family.

How do you intend to leverage your Ross MBA in the future?
I plan to leverage my Ross MBA to accelerate my career. My background is in dance, retail management, and human resources, so I wanted to fill knowledge gaps in areas of business such as finance and operations. Along with the increased business acumen, I’m seeking to build my professional network and invest in my leadership abilities through coursework, experience in OMBA Council, and Sanger Leadership Center programs.

How do you balance work, life, and family?
Every day is a priority check. I let go of the idea that everything needs to be in perfect balance all the time. For example, during finals week, I’m spending more time studying and taking exams. The following week, which we have off, I plan a special breakfast and outing with my son to get quality time. People in the program are balancing a lot. There’s work and school, but also major life events like planning a wedding, raising children, moving to different states, or changing jobs. We’re a busy crew! But the community at Ross has been incredibly supportive and understanding. In the OMBA Program, we have a lot of flexibility with the order of courses we take. I’ve been able to plan my courseload to do heavier workloads (or quant classes) during times of the year that are less busy at work. For instance, when I received my manager role, I chose to delay one class to the following year so I could focus on a successful transition to my new role.

How do women support each other within the program?
There are several formal organizations across Ross, such as the Michigan Business Women Club, MoMBAs group, and OMBA women’s Slack channel. These give spaces to connect with other women across the program who are experiencing similar challenges and encourage each other in pursuit of our goals. I’ve also attended one-day symposiums with guest speakers that bring inspiration, wisdom, and actionable advice. I drove to Ann Arbor for one of these events, where a panel of women shared career advice and stories. I was a new manager at the time, and this provided a wealth of timely advice and lessons learned about effective communication and managing the interests of various stakeholders.

In addition to the formal structures, there is incredible informal support for each other. I feel very comfortable chatting with women in the program about current challenges, encouraging each other, forming study groups, discussing imposter syndrome, and asking for help. I receive an incredible amount of support from my male classmates as well. I do not feel excluded, disadvantaged, or guilty because of my gender or responsibilities as a mother. I have one male classmate who does not have children, but when I was late for a group meeting after a toddler meltdown, he asked questions to understand my experience of managing school and my most important role as a mom. His curiosity and listening made me feel incredibly supported when it would have been very understandable to get right into the work since we had already lost time.

What advice would you have for women thinking about getting their MBA while working?
Build your support network. There’s a relationship side of this — friends, partners, family members, close co-workers, or that friend who knows how to plan a fun night out — but also things like meal planning services, Instacart or Thrive memberships, cleaning services, dog walkers, or some mixture/variation of the above that fits your lifestyle. A lot of your time will be spent studying, in class, working on group projects, and attending program events. If there is an area of your life where someone can support you or share the mental load, ask for help.

It can be really hard to ask for what you need, but it has been a game changer for me to show up how I want as a mom, wife, daughter, friend, coach, and employee. Be kind to yourself, and remember this is possible. There is no avoiding the fact that there are varying levels of social pressures on women at many levels, and I find we tend to be very critical and hard on ourselves. When going through the academic rigor of business school while working it has helped me to remember that I’m doing a hard thing. I’m learning more every day, and I’m getting closer to my goals without sacrificing my other roles.

Is there anything else you would like to share about your experience?
The action-based learning in classes and residencies (especially international residencies) has given me a safe place to build new skills and build my confidence as a woman growing my career in the business world. For example, I am comfortable presenting, but I want to build my confidence in speaking about finances and answering questions in the moment. One course had a group presentation at the end, so I volunteered to present these sections and prepped with a classmate who currently works in finance. This is a much lower risk than a work presentation to senior leadership, so taking advantage of these moments has been extremely helpful at work. As a bonus, the residencies are a lot of fun, and I’ve built incredible friendships. GO BLUE!

Alexandria Solis-Mullen, WMBA

Why did you choose a Michigan Ross WMBA?
I made the decision to pursue my MBA in tandem with my decision to choose Ross and, specifically, the WMBA Program. I knew I needed exactly the right fit for the experience to be worth the effort, and it absolutely has been. I knew that Ross would provide me with classroom education, practical application through the MAP project, and immense opportunities for networking as I looked to plot out my career trajectory.

I knew I needed to be in person, given my learning style, but I also knew I needed school to fit into my work schedule. I'm an attorney and trust officer and also the primary breadwinner for my family. So, discontinuing work to attend a full-time program was not an option for me. The Ross WMBA Program gave me everything I was looking for, and that's also why it was the only program to which I applied.

How do you intend to leverage your Ross MBA in the future?
My primary goal since starting the program has been to leverage my MBA into a promotion at my current employer. I've also done some very insightful career matching while at Ross that has also led me to explore with more clarity what I want in the future and what work best fits my natural interests, motives, and passions. Regardless of my precise path forward, I know that my MBA has equipped me to be a better leader and a better thinker.

How do you balance work, life, and family? 
I think it takes meticulous planning and a great support system to balance my responsibilities. I'm married, a full-time attorney and trust officer, and I have five children ages three to 16. I also serve as board president for a local non-profit addressing housing instability. I would never be able to balance everything without careful planning of everything from childcare to meals to scheduled breaks. I plan my entire year (inasmuch as the information I have at the time allows) down to the day. I also frontload the work on my calendar, so I've built in extra time in case I'm delayed in accomplishing tasks. I also build in rest periods within each day and throughout the year. It's equally important to plan out the time you work as it is to plan the time you rest and do things that bring you joy. Getting an MBA is a marathon, not a sprint.

How do women support each other within the program?
I would respond to this from the perspective of a woman and, separately, as a mom. The women in this program understand the hurdles of being a professional woman, particularly the intrinsic and institutional bias we face. I have had zero negative experiences with non-women individuals, but there is something unique about sharing that lived experience with other women. The women in this program have been uplifting to each other, and I'm so grateful for the friendships and connections I've formed.

I've definitely also connected with other moms in the program. It's nice to know someone else is in a similar situation. There is solidarity in being a working mom in school. We miss our children terribly, but also absolutely love being here and learning together. It's a complicated emotion, and it's a comfort to know that other people around me know what that feels like. Women (and men, for that matter) in this program have been very understanding and supportive of limitations on scheduling, virtual meeting interruptions, and other factors that affect me as a student, given my role as a mom.

What advice would you have for women thinking about getting their MBA while working?
You can absolutely manage this. If I can do it while working, volunteering, and raising five children, it's definitely doable. Don't psych yourself out. You can absolutely do this. But it takes a lot of work. You will need to be maximally productive for extended periods of time. It's exhausting sometimes, but if you want it, it's definitely worth it. I recommend scheduling your rest times, from breaks in your day to vacations over break. You're going to need them.

Tap into your support network. Talk to your people ahead of time to tell them what you're doing and what you need from them. Most of my classmates have family, significant others, and work teams who are very understanding.

Is there anything else you would like to share about your experience?
Transitioning to team-based work was an adjustment for me. Law school can be competitive, and only one person gets the top marks. Ross WMBA is not like that. While grades matter, that's not the focus here. It took time to adjust to the collaborative atmosphere, but being halfway through the program, I see the merit of the team structure, and I'm so thankful to be learning this way.