Senior pursues MBA bridge program to combine business, engineering education

Quinn Heather, an Olathe, Kansas native, has had an affinity for design from a technical standpoint for as long as he can remember. 

He had experience in his childhood and adolescence with design, from building Legos to working on a car with his father. He took a leap of faith at the beginning of high school by applying to a different high school in his district, which had programs that better aligned with his goals, specifically the engineering program. 

“Growing up, I loved building, but I also liked making my own contraptions in a creative way, which led me toward the design side and how to make solutions tangible,” Quinn said. “My dad has been a great mentor with my car. He taught me a lot of general maintenance stuff, and I worked on the suspension, the exhaust system, tuning and wheels. That all just shot me in the general direction of mechanical engineering.” 

Quinn came into college having a general idea of his career interests but wanted to keep his options open. He chose the mechanical engineering route after a tour of the engineering facilities and for his gift in STEM-concentrated courses. He first heard of the Engineering/MBA bridge program during his third year at KU from a friend. After discussing the program and its opportunities, he felt it was right for him to pursue the degree himself. 

“My friend and I are very like-minded,” Quinn said. “He inspired me to add a fifth year and pursue an MBA so that I could combine my technical and mechanical engineering experience with the business side of organizations. You can leverage that in many different ways, like leading a team. A managerial role is something that I’m definitely considering for a long-term career, and I’ve also started looking into the technical consulting route.” 

As a Kansas native, Quinn is familiar with the opportunities in the area and looks forward to networking as he continues his degree at KU. 

“Coming to KU as a Kansan has definitely opened some significant networking opportunities for me,” Quinn said. “Being close to home, I know a lot of people in the Kansas City-based firms that I can network with and reach out to.”  

Throughout his pursuit of his undergraduate degree, Quinn has completed several internships with Turner Construction Co. While assisting with both engineering and business-related aspects of the firm, he got a glimpse of the responsibilities he’s passionate about and plans to continue working on upon his graduation from KU.  

“I was doing a lot of work with business-related stuff, such as invoices and monitoring budgets,” Quinn said. “It was easy to pick up and reaffirmed my decision to pursue my MBA. I like talking. A lot of engineers get stuck behind the desk, so this allows me to get on the client side, do some sales and find business for the company.” 

The lesson Quinn’s learned that’s stuck with him throughout his time at KU originated from a tough class at the beginning of his sophomore year. By then, he was in more difficult classes that were taught in a way that made it hard for him to fully grasp the content. So, he taught himself the material. He now strongly believes in the importance of having the ability and confidence to teach oneself and how that strength can take an employee far in their career. 

“You have to take ownership of what you want to achieve in your life,” Quinn said. “At the end of the day, you learn a lot of valuable things in your classes; the most important thing you can learn is how to learn and how you learn. That’s what makes me a valuable asset now.” 

Quinn says that the School of Business and the pursuit of his MBA have helped him tremendously in his job search, noticing how quickly recruiters respond with second interviews when he mentions he’s pursuing an MBA. 

“[The MBA bridge] is something I can add to my interviews about who I am,” Quinn said. “I can talk to the business side and the engineering side and be the gateway between the two. There are a lot of engineers in the world, and it’s a way to stand apart from that. It shows I have the experience and the schooling to lead teams. I’m seeing that difference already in interviews, and I expect that I’ll see the value monetarily and promotion-wise.” 

After graduation, Quinn plans to start working in the Kansas City area as an engineer or consultant, somewhere at the crossroads of business and technology. He also dreams of traveling to Europe before entering the workforce. 

“[The MBA bridge] allows me to be more well-rounded and have the background to attack all kinds of problems. I can see how the business side interacts with my engineering and technical decisions.”