MBA program youngster hopes to pave the way for others

Monday, October 14, 2019

Master of Business Administration student Annie Archer is carving a path few people her age have traveled. At the age of 21, she is one of the youngest students in the nearly 60 years of the MBA program at Oklahoma State University.

Archer began the MBA program in fall 2019, after receiving her undergraduate degree the previous May. With a bachelor’s degree in marketing and management, the skills she learned through her undergraduate degree will be expanded upon within the program.

“My undergraduate experience has helped me so much already through my graduate assistantship,” Archer said. “I am helping with the marketing and event coordination for the Center for Health Sciences Innovation, so a lot of that is focused on social media marketing and marketing for the different events throughout campus, which I learned a lot about during my undergraduate program.”

Though she is having a successful start to her first semester of the program, Archer felt her age could possibly hinder her.

“Being the youngest in the program, I was initially worried that I wouldn’t be taken as seriously as some of the other students, but that hasn’t affected me so far,” she said. “I feel proud of myself because there are people coming in and starting their MBA at 27, and I turned 21 the first day of school so it makes me feel like I’m on the right track.”

As soon as Archer learned about the possibility to continue her education through the Spears School of Business MBA program, she began applying.

She encourages young students, like herself, to apply for the MBA program because they can bring new, younger perspectives into the program.

“I would definitely say do it, even though it may seem kind of scary,” Archer said. “I think it is something to be proud of and it’s something that makes me different from some of the other people in the program.”

She said she always knew she wanted to pursue a career in marketing but wanted to grow and expand her knowledge base from what she already knew, and an MBA was the way to do that.

Archer is a first generation OSU student and has loved every experience she has had since the moment she stepped on campus her freshman year.

“I genuinely love school,” Archer said. “I couldn’t imagine leaving OSU yet.”

Archer also was named to the 2019-2020 MBAA Officer team, serving as the vice president of campus representation.

She is expected to graduate in December 2020 with a concentration in Global Marketing.

For more information about the MBA program, visit the Watson Graduate School of Management page.

MEDIA CONTACT: Terry Tush | Director, Marketing and Communications | 405-744-2703 | terry.tush@hotmail.com