Alumni Testimonials

Roc Starks
Associate Teaching Professor, Executive in Residence
Finance Department
Bowling Green State University

Early in his professional journey, Roc Starks found himself as the Senior Vice President and Corporate Director of Insurance for Citizens Financial Group. He was responsible for corporate insurance programs, providing risk management services for the entire Citizens Financial Group, including loss prevention advice, self-insurance administration and cost of risk analysis. “I managed the accounting and reporting functions for a $1.3 Billion Bank Owned Life Insurance Portfolio, generating nearly $50 Million in annual tax-free revenue.”

After tremendous success in this role, Roc became an instructor at BGSU. During this time, he found himself eager to expand his learning experience; an Executive MBA seemed like the best solution for his professional needs. When determining which university held the greatest chance at accomplishing this goal, he ultimately decided to remain at BGSU because of the “high quality reputation of the program and a strong connection to the faculty.” BGSU seemed like the perfect fit, and he was eager to begin his experiential learning journey.

Roc thoroughly enjoyed his experience in the EMBA program. This program is designed for experienced professionals that hope to expand their skills to succeed in today’s international business environment, tailoring towards Roc’s career ambitions. This competitive yet nurturing environment allowed him to expand his knowledge base while testing his limits. “Learning from my colleagues was a very unique challenge, and I had high expectations.”

One of Roc’s primary drivers for originally enrolling in the EMBA program was the opportunity to “study and learn new subject matter”. Certain topics that he was unable to focus on heavily during undergraduate, such as accounting, supply chain, economics, etc., were now available to delve deeper into through his graduate studies. Roc excitedly welcomed this chance to diversify his area(s) of expertise.

Throughout his experience in the EMBA, the other cohort members made a lasting impression on him. The ability to learn from others gradually transformed into long-lasting connections, illustrating how strong the bonds forged in this program may be, both on a professional and personal level. “We stay in touch and keep up with personal milestones such as marriages and children, job changes, and promotions.”

Today, Roc Starks remains at BGSU as an Associate Teaching Professor and Executive in Residence in the Finance department. He claims he is “much more well-rounded academically” because of the EMBA program at BGSU and everything it taught him. He also says that he “appreciates the broad application of the knowledge from the MBA program.” This knowledge base serves him in his daily role, and he has the ability to reference the skillsets utilized throughout this program in his professional endeavors.

Overall, based on Roc’s incredible time in BGSU’s EMBA program, he urges, “If you’re thinking about the EMBA program here at BGSU, it’s an exciting challenge, a lot of work, but it is well worth the knowledge and experience that you’ll gain.”

Olivia Brooks, MBA
Corporate Controller
BS in Accounting, Human Resource Management, Tiffin University
MBA, Bowling Green State University

Olivia Brooks graduated from Tiffin University in 2013 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting and human resources and immediately began working as a corporate accountant for Webster Industries, Inc. in Tiffin, Ohio. A year later, Olivia was named corporate controller and has been successfully supporting the company's financial health since.

After three years as corporate controller, Olivia says she knew it was time to add to her professional development. She selected BGSU’s Executive Master of Business Administration program and says she would highly recommend the program to any prospective student or professional on the fence about furthering their professional development.

“The faculty and staff for the program were amazing, I made lifelong connections with my cohort, and I gained knowledge and experience I will forever use in my career,” Olivia said.

As a working professional, Olivia says a key benefit of the Executive MBA was the hybrid format.

“The combination of weekend classes and online work allowed for plenty of flexibility outside of class but also gave you the in-class experience to make connections,” Olivia said. “I chose the EMBA program format to be able to make those connections and learn from others in a classroom setting, instead of being solely online.”

Olivia says she found those classroom sessions to be particularly valuable because they allowed the business professionals to share the benefits of their wide range of backgrounds and experiences.

The connections she formed with other professionals in the classroom sessions have blossomed into lifelong personal and professional relationships friendships for Olivia.

“The friendships I made in the program are invaluable," said Olivia. "There is a group of us who still get together almost every quarter to catch up and have play days with our kids.”

Today, Olivia is still able to integrate critical components of her education into her career. She says her EMBA provided her with the foundation, knowledge and credentials to continue advancing in her current role. “I have aspirations of moving up in my career, and my EMBA has prepared me for those future advancement opportunities.”

Edward A. Metzger
President, BioFit Engineered Products
MBA Class of 2006

“Not a day goes by that I don’t apply the knowledge and lessons learned in class to our day-to-day operations and decision-making for our plans for future corporate growth.”

Terry S. Kin
Vice President - MIS, Hercules Tire
MBA Class of 2009

"The Executive MBA program at Bowling Green was invaluable in furthering my knowledge of all business aspects. The program is very well rounded in both the analytical and subjective areas of business concepts. Being an Executive program, the courses afforded me the opportunity to learn from other seasoned executives from different industries with different backgrounds. Being able to hear real life stories relating to our coursework from actual CEO's, CFO's and CIO's was invaluable to the learning Process."

John F. Meier
Chief Executive Officer, Libbey Inc.
MBA Class of 1970

"The MBA experience at BGSU introduced educational experiences and intense commitment to new and changing deadlines and circumstances. The focus on team collaboration and resolution to business problems prepared me well for the varied personal interactions of the real business world. In addition, the international foundation at BGSU continues to serve me well in my career."