If the idea of sticking around for one master’s degree sounds daunting, consider the notion of two. That is exactly what Susan Fleming has done this past year. Upon completing her MBA at WT last August, she immediately turned her attention toward our new MS-SHRM (Strategic Human Resources Management) degree, and is the first graduate from this new degree program.
But first a little back story. “I graduated high school at the age of 16. I got married and started a family, and never finished college. In 2017 I attended South Plains College and finished my Associate’s degree in Business there. I decided realistically that was not enough for me and I wanted a bachelor’s,” she said.
And so a search for a suitable university with flexible online courses and programs ensued. “I had always heard great things about WT and decided to look into it. I came here with a lot of junior college hours. I had great advisors who have helped me along the way. Eventually I got my BBA in 2023, a BAAS degree,” Susan continued.
After that she decided she wanted to do her MBA. When I started my college endeavors I was Financial Assistant, but in 2021 I was promoted to Finance Director. Susan is no stranger to multitasking and hard work. By day she is the Finance Director at her Lubbock church, but then switches hats to that of wife and mother. Somewhere among all of these duties, she managed to complete her MBA at WT last August.
During that last month Lynsee Bjork, our Graduate Business Programs Coordinator, suggested the new MS-SHRM program. “I immediately enrolled. My role as Finance Director finds me now over all of HR. Keeping up with the ever-changing world of HR is challenging in itself. Getting this degree allows me to say, ‘Hey, I did my due diligence’.”
While the program is set at 31 hours of coursework, an exemption exists for those entering with an MBA, allowing her to complete a second graduate degree in only 22 hours. Susan dug in deep and completed all of the requirements in only two semesters. She now has the distinction of being the first graduate from the program, an honor that no one can ever take from her.
More importantly, shefinds the program and her role in HR have made crystal clear some of the challenges that women face in the workplace, as well as other marginalized persons. “I want to make a change for others who haven’t been treated as they should have been,” she said proudly.
Her academic career more than likely now complete–she did jokingly say a PhD popped into her head once–she looks back on her WT experience as being the best of times. “I feel like I’m a sponge, still absorbing all of the knowledge from the professors I have had. It is going to be sad not having that interaction,” she concluded.
The Engler College of Business is proud to offer a master of science degree in strategic human resource management that focuses on how to strategically deploy human resources for firm success. To find out more information about our program, please click here.