Like a lot of modern women, Sharon Massengill and Nancy Corcoran are juggling career goals and family. They manage time, make budgets, pay bills and raise kids. And Massengill and Corcoran are also pursuing master’s degrees in business administration at the University of Missouri-Rolla. Both are members of UMR’s first MBA class and plan to graduate soon.

Sharon Massengill is pursuing an MBA at UMR.

Massengill, a mother of three, worked as an industrial engineer for approximately 15 years. She came to UMR specifically for its MBA program and she was attracted to the university’s utilization of teams within its core curriculum.

"Today, more than ever, there is a focus on teams within a work arena in order to achieve maximum results," says Massengill, who is from Tennessee. "UMR has its finger on the pulse of the workplace and I was excited to be able to use my skills in an environment mirroring industry."

Massengill recently returned to Tennesse, where she is completing her MBA via distance education courses.

Nancy Corcoran is also part of UMR’s first MBA class.

Corcoran, a mother of two, previously owned a computer repair and training business in Rolla. She says she’s proud to be in the first class of the new MBA program.

"The hardest thing about juggling school and family is the workload involved," says Corcoran. "Weekends are often given over to homework instead of family outings."

But going back to school has also afforded Massengill and Corcoran the opportunity to set good examples for their kids.

"It has allowed me to set a standard which I hope they will try to maintain as they go off to college," says Corcoran. "If their mom can earn a 4.0 while working and taking care of them, then they can earn the grades while only going to school."

UMR’s MBA program is technology based, combining business, technology and enterprise resource planning (ERP). The degree was designed so that it can be finished in one calendar year and consists of 36 hours of graduate work as well as the option to finish by distance learning. Internships for credit are required. Massengill recently finished an internship with General Electric in Minnesota and Corcoran completed her internship at Tellabs in Chicago.

Students have the option of customizing their degree by choosing concentrations in e-commerce, enterprise resource planning, finance, human-computer interaction, information technology management, marketing, new product design and management, or supply chain management.