With a love of travel and a career that occasionally takes him on the road, Brian Butterworth ’19 MBA - Organizational Psychology thought hard about how going back to school could ever be a possibility. But after over 10 years working at his current job, his self-mantra of “never stop learning” paired with his desire to advance his career was pointing to one thing, a graduate degree. “I do have to travel from time to time for work, so the idea of not being tied down of having to be there every Wednesday for class was a big thing,” he said.

With this in mind, Brian began looking at his options and, being based in Rhode Island, he had no idea at first just how close to home his best option was. “I looked for a couple of months before deciding on Johnson & Wales,” he said. “It was a combination of the reputation and knowing that I was going to get the same degree as I would at any Johnson & Wales campus but having the flexibility of doing it online.”

Now a short two years later, Brian’s set to finish his final class and receive his MBA – Organizational Psychology in December. But although he can see the light at the end of the tunnel, he admits that it hasn’t always been easy.

“I’m not going to lie, I'm a bit of a procrastinator, so the important thing is time management,” Brian says. So for him, in order to balance a busy work-life along with getting his education, the key to success came with careful planning. “At the beginning of every course taking the time to go through and look at all the requirements and actually plan out and schedule time for myself to set aside the time to do the requirements for the course was essential.”

But for someone so ingrained in their career, it’s not always easy to shift gears into student mode, especially when they’ve spent years in the field. However, for Brian this actually turned out to be a positive for him. He says he got the “best of both worlds,” since what he was learning in school could be immediately applied in his career. “It’s been interesting because I have already progressed a little bit in my career, so it’s been a great opportunity to turn my learning into actual changes in the workplace,” he said.

But the “best of both worlds” mentality doesn’t just stop there. For someone who likes to travel at least twice a year, once abroad and once domestically, Brian has found that not being tied down to a real-life classroom doesn’t just mean flexibility in his work life but also when it comes to leisure. “Any opportunity I can even, if it’s just for three or four days to go on a little mini-road trip, is why getting my degree online has been great the last couple of years.”

So, what’s next for Brian? For him, that answer comes from his mantra which led him to JWU to begin with. “I’m a fan of lifelong learning so never stop learning, never stop trying to find new opportunities to try something new” he said.

“I’ve already talked to some of my colleagues at my current employer to see what may be the next opportunity for me to maybe partner with our learning development department to apply some of the skills I’ve learned to build upon the foundation that Johnson & Wales has provided.”

Want to learn more about earning your MBA – Organizational Psychology with Johnson & Wales University’s College of Online Education? For more information, complete the “Request Info” form on this page or call 855-JWU-1881.