The Eller Community : Meet Eller MBAs

Ryan Keefer, MBA '07

“The Field Project provided me with confidence in an area that I thought I was pretty weak in and broadened the scope of my business knowledge.”

On the Eller experience:

Coming into the Eller MBA program, I really didn’t know what to expect. After a year and a half in the program, I have been surprised by the quality of the faculty and the integrity and intelligence of my fellow students. I have had a variety of experience in the program and have been able to directly apply most of it to my current job.

On Eller faculty and curriculum:

My favorite class so far has been business strategy with professor Greg Crawford. This was a case-based strategy course that really taught me how to break down business problems and identify the primary issue. It has helped me in every other class I have taken. Another faculty member who has impressed me a lot is Shyam Jha. Shyam has a vast amount of experience that he loves to share with everyone. What I enjoy the most about him is the emotion he shows when he lectures. It is very easy to see that he enjoys what he is doing. The students feed off of his enthusiasm and it makes it much easier to absorb the material.

On elective courses:

My concentration is in MIS, but I have received the most value from the elective courses I have taken in marketing and management and policy. My goal coming into the Eller MBA program was to broaden my knowledge of business, and after a year and a half I feel confident that I have achieved that goal. Each professor understands that my background may not be in marketing or finance, and they do a great job of helping me apply that knowledge to my concentration.

On his field project:

My field project was to create a demand planning model for Rainbird. At first the task seemed very daunting and out of my league. With the help of Price Fishback, we were able to break down the problem and deliver valuable insight into the current process and how it can be improved. The field project provided me with confidence in an area that I thought I was pretty weak in and broadened the scope of my business knowledge.

On his career goals:

What the Eller program has done is allow me the flexibility to learn all different aspects of business. My background has been in IT and the Eller program has taught me a lot about marketing, operations, and finance. Being able to apply my IT knowledge to these disciplines has made me much more valuable to a company.

 
Meet other Eller MBAs.