MBA group takes leadership to the edge

Allison Hartzell admittedly never went camping, nor even out on the simplest of hikes. So, why not make your first true outdoor adventure be summiting the highest mountain peak in the Northeastern United States.

She did.

“Well, I wasn’t really sure what to expect,” says Hartzell ‘17, a business management graduate and first-year Master of Business Administration student at Bloomsburg University.

Developing leadership skills is the heart of Bloomsburg University’s Master of Business Administration program, providing theoretical, analytical and operational expertise managers need to meet the challenges of managing human and material resources in dynamic, competitive environments.

With this concept in mind, the MBA program launched its Leadership on the Edge course to give students a hands-on experience that complement and reinforce leadership and management theories taught in the classroom. MBA students are placed directly in a challenging and unfamiliar environment, where teamwork, decision-making, and effective leadership are critical for success.

This year’s MBA cohort took their LOTE course literally, as they kicked off the fall semester with a field experience to Mt. Washington — the highest peak in the Northeastern United States. However, for several of the MBA students the climb to the 6,288-foot peak was not the challenging part.

“The last half mile to the summit was brutal between the wind, the cold and the rocky terrain,” said Steven Beattie, who is pursuing his MBA. “While physically the climb was tough, it was not necessarily my challenge. The mental aspect of the climb is what became my challenge. It took a lot of mental energy to stay upbeat and positive for the team.”

Hartzell said despite our differences in age amongst the climbers the experience allowed them to bond as a cohort.

“It made us realize we have a lot more in common than we would have originally thought,” Hartzell said. “While this (was) only my second week in the MBA program, it was definitely a great way to start it off. It opened my eyes to my surroundings and even myself a little more.”

Beattie, a 44-year-old already working professionally, he was more attuned with the dynamics of a team and how he’d fit.

“This experience allowed us to form such a strong team in just over a week and achieved a goal that many classes before us couldn’t achieve,” Beattie said. “It’s that aspect of our trip to Mt. Washington that I will carry forward into the business world.”

According to Hartzell, she too gained a lot of self-confidence from the trip.

“I realized that I can push my body and mind a lot further than I thought I could, and that I can do anything I set my mind to,” Hartzell said. “I couldn’t think of a better way to learn about leadership than to actually go out there and do it like we did at Mt. Washington.”