What’s next in your career? Is an Executive MBA the answer?

After more than 25 years as a genetic counselor, Liz Varga had learned to turn to science. It was an automatic response to nearly any question she faced, a byproduct of a career spent in science and health care.

As she approached her 45^th birthday, however, a different type of question began to weigh on her. It had nothing to do with genetics ― and science wasn’t much help.

“Is this the path I want to continue on?” 

“Am I maximizing my potential and living the life that I want?” 

“What’s next for me?” 

“I guess it’s common to get to midlife, start re-evaluating things and asking yourself those questions,” Varga says. “Because even if you love your profession ― and I did love my profession ― you can get to a point where you feel like there are only so many more paths. I've always blazed new trails, and I was running out of trails to blaze.”

Varga wrestled with the restlessness for three years before rekindling the idea of going back to school for an Executive MBA (EMBA). After just one day observing the EMBA experience at Fisher College of Business, she had found her path.

“I was so inspired by the classroom conversation,” she recalls. “The dialogue and being in that environment with knowledgeable professors and the other students left me feeling like I was surrounded by a tribe of like-minded people who really were just so interested in pushing themselves forward.”

Real ROI

Fisher’s EMBA redefines how mid- and senior-level professionals think, lead and create value for themselves and their organizations. The program, now in its 25^th year, is built on the hallmarks of business education at Ohio’s flagship university: rigorous curriculum, world-class teaching, immersive learning experiences, impactful coaching and connectivity to an alumni network that stretches around the world.

“For 25 years, the Fisher EMBA has been about transformation — not just in the classroom, but in the lives and careers of our students,” says Nate Craig, academic director of the EMBA. “As we look to the next 25, our vision is rooted in a simple truth: our students are our legacy. Their impact, their leadership and their continued growth long after graduation is what defines this program. We’ll keep showing up for them — cheering them on, supporting their journeys and celebrating the big wins that follow. That’s the Fisher EMBA difference.”

Part of that difference, says Cristiane Ueno (EMBA ’25), is the opportunity for self-discovery.

A plastic surgeon and associate program director for Ohio State’s Plastic Surgery Residency Program, Ueno enrolled in the EMBA with the goal of not just helping herself; she also wanted to ensure that the two dozen residents she supervises were prepared to succeed in private practice. 

“Because nearly 85% of plastic surgeons eventually go into private practice, these residents have to be more savvy in terms of managing not only the financial aspects of a practice, but also their time,” says Ueno, who served as chief of plastic surgery at Kaiser Permanente prior to arriving at Ohio State. 

“They need to see patients in a timely manner but also provide good care. That’s a little bit of the operations and marketing pieces we learn in the EMBA.”

As Ueno dove deep into the EMBA’s other core business areas such as accounting, finance and data analytics for the first time in her career, her personal motivation for joining the program shifted.

“I came into the EMBA not wanting to be in the C-suite, but as I got all of this knowledge, I came around to the idea that I want to use it in some sort of hospital administration role,” says Ueno, the only health care clinician in her cohort. “So, that’s been a total shift for me.”

That shift in Ueno’s goals led to an almost immediate return on her investment in the EMBA program. Prior to graduating in spring 2025, she applied for and was awarded a position in the Plastic Surgery Foundation’s Visiting Professor Program. Each year, the organization sends eight plastic surgeons to universities nationwide to help guide residents and medical students. Ueno’s application to the program centered on her EMBA experience and how it helped her become a better teacher and clinician.

She’s headed to Indianapolis, where she will partner with a health care organization there to help develop a plastic surgery and breast cancer program in a hospital that currently doesn't have any plastic surgeons.

Ueno’s success mirrors the ROI many EMBA students see during or shortly after their experience at Fisher. Varga (EMBA ’25), for example, helped co-craft an entirely new position for herself at her pediatric health care organization: administrative director of patient and family experience. 

“From scheduling, to their first experience walking in the door, to finding their appointment location to their clinical encounter, the follow-up and possible readmission ― I’m thinking about how to optimize every step,” Varga (EMBA ’25) says of the promotion. “I’m applying a lot of what I learned in EMBA, like data analytics, marketing and messaging our brand.”

Her experience and that of Ueno’s aren’t outliers: Nearly 70% of their class received promotions during their time in the program. And, according to the most recent post-graduate data available, the EMBA Class of 2022 reported 52.5% salary growth less than three years after graduation, with an average increase of over $100,000 annually.

During her EMBA experience, Ueno coincidentally found herself utilizing lessons from her negotiations class as she navigated her own contract renewal.

“I remember seeing the homework we had to do for class and thinking ‘Wow, I’m actually going to apply this homework to my own contract,’” she says. “I was able to get almost 100% of what I wanted out of that contract.”

“There is no perfect time.”

As an enterprise architect in IT, Subbaiah Annamalai (EMBA ’25) knows technology waits for no one. The same, however, can’t be said about his pursuit of an EMBA degree. He first began thinking about pursuing his MBA in 2013, waiting for a perfect time. After a decade’s worth of life ― family, work, relocations, kids, travel, one after another ― he finally took the leap and enrolled at Fisher, proving that no matter how long the wait, dreams are worth pursuing.

“There is no perfect time. Life is always busy,” he says. 

That’s not to say Annamalai’s first day back at school was anxiety-free.

“I was going back to school after 25 years. It was daunting,” he says. “I was hesitant whether I would be able to keep up with my team. My undergraduate degree was in computer science, so I didn’t have much accounting or finance training. But as soon as I got in the program, everyone shared similar insecurities. I wasn’t alone.”

“Completing this MBA is a dream come true moment for me. I hope this inspire my kids not to give up on their dreams,” says Annamalai, who was named valedictorian of his class.

Annamalai’s motivation for an EMBA was career advancement toward the C-suite. He says the EMBA’s intentional focus on coaching has been a difference-maker for him.

“The personalized executive coaching was one of the best things of the EMBA program,” he says. “It helped me grow both personally and professionally. The coach provided valuable insights on communication and leadership strategies, guiding me to uncover and address my blind spots — those unconscious habits or behaviors that had been holding me back. This self-awareness gave me a transformative experience.”

Questions answered

Nearly five years after the idea of an EMBA first popped into her consciousness and those mid-life questions began pestering her, Varga ― along with Ueno, Annamalai and 19 other EMBA classmates ― gathered one final time on campus. They wore caps and gowns and spoke excitedly about the past 17 months as a cohort and the limitless futures that awaited them.

Varga finally had answers to those questions ― and some advice for anyone wrestling with how to turn feelings of doubt, uncertainty and legacy into action.

“An EMBA is not for everyone. It’s hard. But you’re going to get out of it what you put into it,” she says. “Throughout my life, there’s been times I felt like a bit of an odd duck, either in my ambition or the things I want to talk about. Finding my tribe here in the EMBA program has been a comfort to me.”

“I’ve got these supporters who are just as ambitious as I am and who want to make an impact. We all want to be inspired, motivated and encouraged to do big things. They’ve made me better and I feel like I’ve helped make them better.”