Alumnus Credits Success to Scheller MBA Experience

Antoine Wade, MOT 2015, looks back on his experience at the Georgia Institute of Technology – Scheller College of Business not only to remember the immense knowledge and opportunity he gained, but also to reflect on the Scheller community which helped him through a time of hardship.

Born in Portsmouth, Virginia, Antoine Wredade began his undergraduate education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he majored in business administration with a focus on management information systems. Over the next ten years he held a variety of roles in business, including RedPrairie Corporation (now JDA Software), before deciding it was time to earn his MBA. In August of 2014, Wade enrolled in the Executive MBA program at Scheller.

According to Wade, the “real world” experience he earned in those ten years after earning his undergraduate degree helped him truly make the most of the MBA program. “Having work experience was very valuable background for my classes,” Wade said. “If I had gone for an MBA right after getting my undergraduate degree, I don’t think I would have gotten as much out of the program.”

According to Wade, the Scheller MBA program made sense for a number of reasons: the cost offered a great value, the program offered a global orientation, and the school’s reputation spoke for itself.

Life took a sudden turn, however, when his first child was born, just a month after beginning the program, and was diagnosed soon after with a ventricular septal defect and an atrial septal defect.

According to Wade, the program accommodated his need to take time off to focus on his child’s health. “What really made a difference,” he said, “was the support I received from my family and from my Georgia Tech family: faculty, staff, and my classmates.”

Today, thanks to an open-heart surgery, Wade’s daughter is as “healthy as can be”, and five weeks before graduating from Scheller, Wade was offered a position as associate vice-president-Customer Solutions by E2open.

“I went into grad school with a plan,” said Wade. “I wanted a new job with a vice president title that paid a certain salary, and I wanted to work for a company small enough that I’d feel a level of ownership in it. The Scheller MBA program helped me achieve each of these goals. It was a terrific experience.”

regions: Atlanta

About the Author