Adjusting to a totally different climate and moving thousands of miles from home were just the beginning of the excitement for Marsha Silvera as she accepted an admission invitation to begin her studies at the Illinois MBA.  She left her family and friends in Kingston, Jamaica, with a vision and goal of completing an MBA degree and gaining the necessary preparation to eventually launch her career in management consulting.

Marsha previously worked over four years with Air Jamaica Ltd. and learned the ins and outs of customer service in her roles as Reservations Agent and Route Manager. She has also previously worked as a Project Coordinator. As a valued member of the team at Air Jamaica, Marsha received both the “Going the Extra Mile” and the “Top Producer” awards. The most important life lesson that she learned from previous professional positions was “no matter the situation it is always a good move to treat others the way you would expect to be treated; it works every time.”

While at the University of the West Indies, Marsha earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. At the time, she was not sure how she would apply her degree but soon was drawn to the tourism industry. She learned the value of customer service as well as the importance of using appropriate management techniques to the overall success of a company. Her desire to learn more about management and to share knowledge about this subject led her to apply to the University of Illinois MBA program.

Marsha has become involved in several activities over and above her studies in an effort to take advantage of the full value of the MBA experience. She is a Project Manager with Illinois Business Consulting and a very active member of MBAs of Color and Women in Business. Her classmates know her to be a serious student who loves to dance and keep things light and fun.

She acknowledges that her time here has been quite challenging but extremely rewarding.  Even in the midst of reduced sleep time and multiple priorities she has not regretted her decision.  Marsha says, “Now that I have completed the first semester, I am even more motivated to complete the MBA degree and take what I have learned to help companies realize their maximum potential.”