Why, OH why would I do such a thing?

Crazy, courageous, ridiculous, delusional, brilliant or all of the above? These, and many more such thoughts, have bounced and bounded around my brain since deciding to earn my MBA at the age of 50. So, here’s my story:

I’ve been employed as a managing editor for the past 17 years, nearly 13 of which have been with the same company. My job has been that of a content editor for an enormous history, social science, humanities curricula called the Paragon Curriculum®, which is implemented in Mosaica Education, Inc. schools around the nation (it’s a proprietary program). My job has been very gratifying— I’ve learned so much and have worked with wonderful people. But, the curriculum is done, finished, complete— nearly 40,000 pages— and I’ve been laid off.

So, I’m at a crossroad. I’ve thought deeply and earnestly about what I want and going back and working at what I’ve been doing just isn’t resonating. I went through a serious health challenge a few years back, which is still affecting me. I have an acoustic neuroma, which is a type of a benign brain tumor. I’ll write more about it another time, but for now it is suffice to say that working at a computer for 8 – 10 hours a day, five days a week, which is required of my job, is way too challenging. I want a change and I feel it is in my best interest to seek a change, so I started considering graduate school.

I already have a Masters degree in Anthropology, which has served me very well. Yet, it’s been a long held dream to create my own business. It’s been fascinating to witness the growth of Mosaica Education, Inc. and, as the first employee hired, I’ve experienced the ups and downs of a start-up company. While I want to form my own business, I seriously lack so many of the skills necessary to do so—accounting, finance, marketing, advertising, and so on. When one earns a degree in the social sciences like I did, one does not even dabble in these disciplines. So, I decided that a MBA would be a great choice!

I’m enrolled at Mills College in Oakland, CA and classes begin on August 26th. Please come with me as I chronicle my journey of earning a MBA @ 50!