Deborah New
President, New Enterprises, Alumna, Evening MBA Program, Member, Kelley Women's MBA Alumni Advisory Board, President, Central Indiana chapter of the Kelley Alumni Association
Photo credit: Denis Kelly
"It's been fun and challenging to promote Kelley's offerings and reputation to alumni, potential students and others in the community. It's personally very rewarding for me to use my skills and talents to give back to the school"
For someone who had spent the majority of her career in communications, Deborah New realized earning an MBA degree would be a significant departure from the field she'd come to know so well. Today, more than 10 years after graduating from Kelley's Evening MBA Program, New considers the three-year endeavor to be time and energy well spent.
"I knew coming primarily from a communications and public relations background that some of the graduate business courses would be challenging for me," says New, who earned a bachelor's degree in communications from Purdue University in 1983. "But it was something I wanted to do to gain a better understanding of the business side of business and to enhance my career possibilities."
New completed the MBA degree in three years while working full-time at Indiana Gas Company. As a wife and mother of a young daughter, she recalls receiving a great deal of support from Kelley faculty and her colleagues – most of whom were also working professionals.
"My small group was really great," New says. "I worked in a group with an engineer, an accountant and a person involved in strategic planning and operations. It was a fabulous combination; I learned so much from them, and I was able to contribute to their experience. We really made the most of the insights and skills everyone brought to the table."
As president of her own marketing and public relations consultancy, New says the finance and operations knowledge gained from her MBA studies have been very helpful in her work with clients, as well as in previous jobs with major companies such as WellPoint and Sallie Mae.
"I am much more adept at helping people effectively communicate financial and operational information to employees, the media, shareholders and others," New explains. "I owe a lot of that to my experience in Kelley's MBA program."
Since graduating from Kelley in 1996, New has stayed involved with the school – most recently as a member of the Women's MBA Alumni Advisory Board, president of Kelley's Central Indiana Alumni Association chapter and as a consultant for Kelley alumni relations.
"It's been fun and challenging to promote Kelley's offerings and reputation to alumni, potential students and others in the community," says New. "It's personally very rewarding for me to use my skills and talents to give back to the school."
