Ashley Sims was self-employed at Encore Performing Arts Academy in March 2021 when a former professor from Marian University asked her, ‘What do you think about a career change?’
Ashley says that the marketing department was looking to hire a second full-time professor and wanted an alumnus with a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA), so her former professor recommended her. Ashley interviewed for the position without an MBA and was offered the job and financial assistance to return to school to get the degree.
Because Marian University’s marketing department was supporting Ashley financially, she needed to find a fully online program. Ball State University’s online program fits the bill, Ashley says, because it provides a business analytics concentration for the degree. Ashley says Marian University desired someone in the department to have business analytics experience.
“It just happened to be the right time in my life to make that change as I was pregnant with my second daughter and knew that the job would be more structured than my entrepreneurial hustle, even though I loved that,” Ashley says.
The Professor Becomes the Student, Again
While taking online classes for her MBA degree, Ashley worked as a Marketing Instructor at Marian University. Ashley teaches Principles of Marketing, Event Planning & Management, Real Estate, Foundations of Entrepreneurship, and a Business Plan Implementation course.
“My students actually were very appreciative of the fact that I was in the game with them. They said, ‘Oh, you have a quiz this weekend. You got finals too.’ I remember how you feel because I’m doing it now. It was fun,” Ashley says.
Becoming a student once again allowed Ashley to have more empathy as a professor, she says, because of how big of an adjustment it was to juggle classes, multiple jobs, and her family life.
“It reminded me to be graceful, to remember what it’s like experiencing the changes and the potential stress of being a student,” Ashley says. “I was in the same space as them.”
‘Your network is your net worth.’
Taking online classes, it’s easy to ‘just go through the motions,’ Ashley says, so she found value in networking with her professors and classmates.
“I truly believe that your network is your net worth. I have meetings set up post-graduation with several professors…mostly to bounce ideas off of at this point and obtain advice from a teaching perspective, but I hope to provide value to them as well,” Ashley says.
Ashley is approaching her third year of teaching at Marian University and says she plans to stay for a while. She also hopes to become more involved in the professional marketing world, while continuing to work at her performing arts academy.
“I enjoy working with my colleagues and have been more than blessed to have phenomenal students to work with,” Ashley says.
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Link to Ashley Sim’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-sims-mba-950997b8/