The Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics celebrated almost 70 recipients of graduate degrees during its Fall Graduate Festival. Graduate students and their families enjoyed a cocktail reception, followed by a ceremony, which briefly honored each graduate.
The group of graduates included students from countries including China, South Korea, Europe and India. During his congratulatory address, Lerner College Dean Bruce Weber said that UD’s diverse graduate degree options give students the opportunity to customize their experiences.
One such example of degree options includes the MBA @ AstraZeneca program. Through this program, AstraZeneca employees have the option to take their required courses on-site at the company’s Fairfax, Delaware, location. Joe Dugan and Rob Treml, two of the graduates honored at the ceremony, completed their MBAs through this program.
Dugan said that the convenience of the program helped him decide to pursue his MBA. He added that his concentration in international business gave him, “a better view and understanding that we’re managing and working all across the globe.” Treml, who concentrated in management, said that he’s learned coaching and leading skills from the MBA program.
Another celebrated graduate, Mike Watson, got his MBA through the Online MBA program. Watson, who hails from Louisiana, called the UD community “very inviting.”
Amy Estey Becker, manager of UD’s MBA program, said that the college is “thrilled to honor our graduates for the fall and winter semesters.”
At the ceremony’s end, Becker proposed a toast to the new graduates, drawing from Henry David Thoreau: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life that you have imagined.”