Success Stories

After working for six years at Praxair – a Fortune 500 supplier of atmospheric gases, high-performance coatings, and related services and technologies – Shawn Miller (MBA '03) felt like she'd reached the proverbial job ceiling. A 1995 graduate from the University of Kansas with a degree in chemical engineering, Miller had worked in operations, marketing, sales, and account management at three different Praxair locations. She knew that an MBA would help her break through the ceiling to max out her professional potential. As she scoured the MBA landscape, the Cox School of Business caught her eye.

"I had worked at Praxair's Richardson, TX-based office," she noted, "so I was familiar with the Dallas area and its established high-tech market – an industry I'm considering working in after graduate school. Just as important, I was attracted by Cox's strong salary and job placement rankings and the American Airlines Global Leadership Program."

Since beginning the Cox full-time MBA program in the fall of 2001, Miller has come to appreciate some of the school's other unique attributes. "I have enjoyed really getting to know the other students and faculty through the close interaction afforded by small classes," she remarked. "In addition, my professors have done a great job grounding business theory in actual cases and applications they've worked on in the real world."

Outside the classroom, Miller has participated in a number of activities that have broadened her perspective on business and enriched her first-year experience. "As an ambassador for the Cox MBA program, I get to play an external-facing sales role – whether touring prospective students around campus or representing the school at local open houses for prospects," she noted. "I've also been able to draw upon the experiences I had as an applicant at different business schools to help the Admissions Office enhance its recruiting and marketing efforts."

As a member of the Cox MBA Student Advisory Board (SAB), Miller has gained valuable insight into the inner-workings of business schools. "The SAB serves as the liaison between the student body and the faculty and administration. This involves talking to faculty and administrators to understand their vision for the school, while soliciting feedback from students regarding new programs they believe the school should implement. Through my experiences on the SAB, I've learned a lot about the way business schools evolve to meet the changing needs of business and the marketplace."

As for advice for new students, Miller commented, "I strongly recommend taking advantage of the Cox MBA experience as much as possible. After all, if you're going back to business school full time, you might as well commit to absorbing all the activities and resources the school has to offer – ranging from the SAB and Ambassadors Program to the Business Leadership Center and the Associate Board Executive Mentoring Program."