Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business students come to learn, explore, and build community. As they move forward in their careers, they take everything they've learned and use it to power innovation in industries and businesses across the globe. In celebration of Fall 2024 Commencement, we sat down with a few students to learn about their experiences and the wisdom they've gained in the process.
Meet Andrew Harvill, who is graduating from the Evening MBA program.
Hometown:
Covington, GA
Describe yourself in 15 words or less:
Storyteller who masquerades as a higher education professional. Part time student, full time dad.
Tell me about the person who most influenced your decision to pursue an MBA?
My wife. She is my best friend and biggest cheerleader. She was instrumental in making me feel that I was capable enough to take on this degree program and be successful in it. Whenever someone asks me how I manage being a full-time working professional, Evening MBA student, and parent, I immediately point to her.
What was your favorite business course?
Strategic Brand Management taught by the late Aaron Hackett. I’m a natural storyteller who also loves using data, which is coincidentally a lot of what that course was about. Professor Hackett’s focus on practical application of only the most useful tools in marketing has ended up underscoring a lot of my professional philosophy. It’s all about the 80/20 rule.
What advice would you give to an incoming Evening MBA student?
Don’t forget, it’s not just you getting your MBA. It’s also your job, your family, your friends, and anyone else who is going to be sharing in the sacrifice to earn the degree. As such, make sure to actively include them in the planning of your degree and honor their sacrifice as you move through the program.
What activities were you involved with on or off campus, and did your business education impact those activities in any way?
I was involved as a student and in my work for Scheller as a Program Manager for the Evening MBA. I’m basically involved with just about everything the program has to offer in one shape or another. The beauty of that arrangement is that I was able to fold just about every class into what I was doing daily to support Evening MBA students. It gave me tools to be more successful at my job (hello pivot tables) while also allowing me to engage as a secret shopper in the program, so to speak.
What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at Scheller?
Evening Schnacks. It’s basically a family meal right before the start of the semester. I’m always excited to see fellow students and bond in that shared Evening MBA experience of trying to grab dinner last minute before class. In many ways, I find it to be the event that best reflects the Evening MBA community itself.
What was your career journey in the Evening MBA program?
I started the program as a Program Manager at Kennesaw State, having served at that institution for almost nine years. In my first semester as a student, I was encouraged to apply to my current role working with the Evening MBA Program, and I could not have asked for a better place to learn and serve over the last three years.
What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?
- I want to serve on the board of a nonprofit to put my business acumen to use supporting a cause I stand behind.
- I want to be able to serve as an adjunct faculty member teaching a business course (hopefully at Scheller!).
What was a moment when you had to practice persistence and/or resilience while in the MBA program?
To be honest, I completed my MBA with two small children at home, so managing this degree has always been an exercise in resilience when it comes to being present as both a student and a parent. However, I think the most challenging time I had as a student was when I was taking Analytical Tools, Managerial Accounting, and Principles of Finance at the same time. It was the most brutal half semester I ever had as a student, and I now routinely use that experience in my advising of current students as a “do as I say, not as I do” instructional moment.
What is the biggest lesson you gained from your Scheller MBA?
There’s a saying that “it’s nothing personal, just business.” It’s a throwaway line to somehow separate the actions of an individual from their relationship within the context of business transactions. As if to say business, especially successful business, cannot be hindered by personal connection. However, the biggest thing I’ve learned at Scheller is quite the opposite. Because it’s business, it is personal.
The strength of this program cannot be measured in the quality of the instruction, or extracurricular activities, or variety of subjects I’ve been able to dive into. Those have all been great, and deeply transformational. However, the only reason any of that matters is because of the strength of the Evening MBA community. We are engaged, collaborative, and supportive of one another.
The value of what I’ve learned at Scheller lies with the personal connections I have with my fellow students, the faculty, the staff, even the servers at Ray’s. And so, it’s placing value on the human element behind business that I will take with me for the rest of my professional career and beyond.
What will you be doing to celebrate your graduation?
I will be spending lots of time with my wonderful wife and daughters!
What is a fun fact about yourself?
I started a Dungeons and Dragons campaign as the DM back in April 2020. It’s now four and a half years later, and I am still serving as the Dungeon Master for our weekly group, and I don’t see it stopping anytime soon.