Lorien Stringer

University of Washington, Foster School of Business

“Full-time employee, student, wife, and a mother of 2. I love to laugh and work hard.”

Age: 40

Hometown: Medford, Oregon

Fun fact about yourself: I used to sing the National Anthem for the NCAA Baseball World Championships in college.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Oregon State University, Speech Communications (Major), Spanish (Minor)

Where are you currently working?

Company: Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc.

Title: Associate Director, National Operations

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Professionally, I’ve been very fortunate that my career path, in addition to my most recent promotion, has allowed me to lead or partner with every major commercial function within major organizations in my industry. Additionally, I’ve been fortunate to lead sales teams and elevate representatives to the top 10% within an organization, where they might not have previously found success (yet). I’m proud to have been a part of helping individual contributors  or business units alike to achieve and surpass their goals; I am thankful for the lessons and experiences along the way.

Why did you choose this school’s online MBA program? I chose University of Washington Foster School of Business Hybrid MBA Program for the diversity, structure, and organization of the program. I love the synchronous and “live” approach they take to learning, allowing us to converse with other classmates and the professors in real-time. This enables us to focus not only on the quantitative learning, but expanding perspectives and gaining insights from others.

What was your favorite part of being in an online MBA program? There are many reasons I love being in this program. As someone who works full-time, for an East Coast company and covers the nation geographically, the set-up allows you to learn, process, consider, and share. You also get the added bonus of learning again in Foster Live discussions as you gain perspectives and insights from your classmates. Versus full-time or other programs, where you’re surrounded by people in your geographical area, we get the added benefit of hearing from working professionals all around the country, all coming together to discuss ideas, learn, and help elevate the teams and organizations with which we work.

What was the most surprising thing about an online learning environment? I love how open people are to share! In this program, people are talking in real-time, even though they might be multiple states away. The environment, and the tone the program and professors set, encourages people to share, and they do. It’s incredible.

How did your online experience compare with your in-the-classroom experience as an undergraduate student? To be honest, it doesn’t. I got so much more out of my interactions during Immersions, Foster Live discussions, and project groups with this program than I ever did in undergrad. The people are just next level; they share, and contribute, and have the real-world experience to back it up. The experience is just at another level.

What is your best piece of advice to an applicant for thriving in an online MBA program? Dive in. Embrace the people, the format, and the program culture. I promise you’ll walk away with insights, key learnings, connections, and friends that you’d never find anywhere else.

How has your online education helped you in your current job? Yes, I can’t believe how it’s already changed the way I think. I went through budget reviews, Integrated Strategic Planning (ISP), Omni-Channel objectives, resource creation…the list goes on. I now raise questions to vendors and have the foundation to consider enterprise level strategy, which allows me to approach business and strategy in a whole new way.

Did you earn a promotion while in the program or immediately after graduation? During the program, I was promoted from an account executive in one business unit to leading National Operations for a national sales team.

Why did you pursue an online MBA program instead of a full-time residential program? As a full-time mother of two children under six years-of-age, a spouse, working for an East Coast-based company, and leading national operations for the VP of my business unit, life is busy. The Hybrid MBA program allows you the opportunity to learn from and interact with other professionals with a lot of other insights to share, while not being time zone limited. I saw it as an opportunity to learn and gain broader insights, without geographic limitations. The nation was our classroom.

Number of Hours Per Week Spent on an Online MBA: Pending the number of classes and program deliverables, I averaged 8-12 hours a week; I really wanted to learn and understand as much as I could.

What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? In the future, I look forward to gaining experience as a Vice President or Chief Commercial Officer within my industry.

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