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Matt Adamson Finds Added Value in MBA Degree From UNL

Matt Adamson has had a lot of success in school for most of his life. The last time he received a grade lower than an A was in seventh grade. When Adamson enrolled as an MBA student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln he didn’t expect that his next step into academics would be much more than a continuation of what he had already accomplished as an undergraduate. Upon receiving his MBA degree following this semester, Adamson now more fully appreciates the value of the MBA experience at UNL.

“I had a business undergrad degree,” said Adamson. “You’re not really sure how much more you’re going to get out of a graduate degree since you have a lot of business exposure already. But it’s really been incredible how much more depth and focus some of the topics and business knowledge has just become second nature to me through the MBA program.  I’ve had a great experience going straight through from undergraduate to the MBA program.”

Adamson is originally from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  He had learned from a lot of great professors both in high school and at the University of South Dakota where he received his undergraduate degree.  Nevertheless, the MBA experience at UNL was inspiring to him.

“I’ve been really impressed with the quality of the professors.  Especially the MBA professors that have had the level of work experience they’ve had prior to getting their Ph.D.’s is very impressive.”

Adamson specialized in finance as part of his MBA program.  He worked with the faculty on multiple levels both in the classroom and taking part in other collegiate activities as a graduate assistant.  As part of his work for the college, Adamson was involved with the preparation for the AACSB accreditation process.  AACSB accreditation is essential to the College of Business Administration to maintain its stature as one of the preeminent business schools in the world.

“I was able to get an assistantship and be involved with the assessment survey.  As AACSB accreditation was coming up they wanted someone with experience with data analysis and working in more of an analyst type role so I did a lot of work preparing for the AACSB report. I helped to get the reports ready and have been in charge of the graduating senior surveys.”

Dr. Donna Dudney, assistant professor of finance, worked with Adamson on the accreditation process.

"Matt provided invaluable assistance in preparing the accreditation report," said Dudney.  "As part of the accreditation process, the College prepares a a 200-page report with statistical information on enrollment trends, degrees awarded  and academic quality indicators.  Matt assisted with the collection and organization of this data, and created dozens of charts and graphs to include in the report.  Thanks to him, the report looked great, and our accreditation process went very smoothly."

Adamson has also served as president of the MBA Student Association at UNL the past year. 

“We do a lot of social things and we were able to get a lot more coordinated with UNL Career Services this year.  We worked a lot with Carol Rogers [Coordinator of the Corporate Relations and Career Development Center] getting the job opportunities that she’s creating out to our MBA students better than what has been done in the past.  We put on a lot of events like a golf tournament and selling MBA apparel.  We’ve resurrected some things that weren’t being done in the recent past.”

Adamson had an internship with the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) last summer completing various bank exams in his hometown.   He hopes to continue his finance career after graduation.

“I got a lot of good experience with the internship and I want to try to stick with banking and maybe get an entry level position.”

Like the majority of MBA graduates from UNL, Adamson has learned that an MBA degree from Nebraska is more than just another piece of paper.  The degree represents a tangible learning experience to build a career upon in the world of business.

Published: May 6, 2011