One-Year MBA Student Turns Creative Passion Into Sustainable Impact

Preparing for what’s next

From Roanoke, Virginia, with undergraduate degrees in art history and studio art, Ben was looking for a career shift. He was COO of a backpacking and wilderness travel equipment company, and his role spanned product design, production and supply chain optimization. With a customer-focused mindset and an eye on efficiency, he knew he wanted to pursue bigger goals and advance his career as a difference-maker.
 
“I knew I wanted to go into something more sustainability based, something more impactful in the world,” he said. “I'd been looking at programs in various places, even as far as England, at various kinds of MBA programs that were sustainability based.”
 
The Palumbo-Donahue School of Business’ One-Year MBA program stood out among many others once Ben decided to take the plunge and apply to grad school. He appreciated Pittsburgh’s well-developed arts scene and loved the positive energy and sense of belonging he felt during visits. 
 
“It’s been really awesome being in a city where people are putting energy into things they’re passionate about,” he said. “I see it in the arts and music community, but I also see it in the business community and within Duquesne.”
 
With the support of Duquesne faculty and staff who walked alongside him, Ben began his graduate school journey almost two decades after earning his bachelor’s. 
 
“It's definitely an adjustment, but to borrow the cliche of riding a bike, it was something that I was able to get back into fairly easily,” he said.  

A horizon-expanding education 

Ben enjoys exchanging ideas and engaging in conversations with his One-Year MBA cohort, many of whom recently graduated from college or are early in their careers. Ben brings decades of professional experience to the table, and he finds the younger students bring hope and enthusiasm. 

“It has been heartening to see that the kind of optimism I felt about changing the world continues,” he said. “There's certainly a lot of cultural exchange going on. Because of my work experience I may have a more expansive perception of the way things fit together, and I have a broader perspective of the way sustainability and business work together. I hope they gain from my experience as well.”
 
Ben looks forward to starting the consulting portion of the One-Year MBA program. The cohort will work with YNST Magazine, a publication that supports emerging artists within the 10 states of the Appalachia region. 
 
“I’m excited because this overlaps with the kind of people I interacted with a lot in my earlier life working as an artist and being active in arts communities and smaller towns,” he said. 
 
Learning together, the team will be tasked with developing a subscription model for the magazine, a membership structure for additional services and other ways to support patrons of the arts from the region and beyond. Ben enjoys how the project combines his passions in meaningful, productive ways.
 
“We're ideating on what those structures look like and how to build the structure in such a way that supports their company ethos of supporting emerging artists, but also makes it positive for the business,” he said. “We're taking a more formalistic approach to actually have a structure in which they can then have ideas that they slot into later.”
 
Leading the charge on the consulting project is Staci Offutt, director of the Center for Excellence in Entrepreneurship, who happens to have an arts background. Ben enjoys sharing perspectives with Offutt and appreciates her holistic understanding of the project from business and arts perspectives.
 
Ben also holds a fellowship working with Dr. Peter Gianiodis. Together, they are conducting research on authenticity, mergers and acquisitions for the craft brewing industry. 
 
“It's been enjoyable to do research and have intellectual conversations,” said Ben.

Combining passion with purpose

When Ben isn’t in Rockwell Hall, he can be found sculpting, painting, knitting and exploring local festivals and events with his wife. He hopes that the arts will always remain part of his life—and his career. 
 
“I want to enable other artists to pursue their craft in a way that incorporates sustainability—that may be consultancy, or that may be working with a company,” said Ben. “I’m very interested in the community aspect of the work and improving sustainability and operations. I’d like to roll my career into the arts or music space, whether through companies that service artists or in the music industry improving sustainability practices at festivals.”
 
Though Ben has many years of professional experience, he’s found that the One-Year MBA program built strengths and knowledge he didn’t know he needed. 
 
“There are a lot of technical aspects to business that I did not have direct experience with, and this has given me more expertise than I would have had otherwise that will ultimately help my career move forward,” he said. “It's also giving me connections with a wide range of people from a wide range of past experiences and life stories—that’s been very interesting and fruitful.”