Liz Snelgrove
VICE PRESIDENT SALES AND MARKETING
ACTIVE HEALTH MANAGEMENT
IVEY EMBA GRAD 2008

• Bruce Lowe
• John Gerow

WHERE LIFE, WORK AND STUDIES BALANCE

Completing an Executive MBA is hard work. For those contemplating it, the possibility of completing one in 15 months seems daunting. Yet, a wide range of candidates from different family, professional and life backgrounds do it each year ... and excel.

Liz Snelgrove, Vice President of a growing health Management Company and recent graduate is a case in point. She travels frequently for work and commutes twice weekly between London and Toronto. Liz has two school-aged children and devoted 25 hours per week to her studies while actively maintaining a marathon running schedule. Even so, she wasn’t overwhelmed.

“I wanted to jumpstart my career and pursue other opportunities. I had reached a level both professionally and personally where I needed a challenge. After looking at each of the top-tier schools, I realized that Ivey offered the best format to fit my learning style. The four days of classes once per month worked well with my job and family commitments. The faculty was exceptional and went out of their way to support us. The entire experience far surpassed my expectations!”

THE CHALLENGE

“The challenge of maintaining a life/work balance was an issue; of course it was,” Liz says. “But it worked out much better than I’d thought it might.” Like many professionals, her life isn’t 9 – 5. “My kids played hockey and took figure skating lessons. I missed more practices and games than I liked. When I was on the 6:30 morning train I didn’t see them until dinner. Still, I put time aside every night to get them ready for bed, read a story and say goodnight. And every week I dedicated a night to special family time.”

Liz comments on a common experience of Ivey Executive MBA participants, “The fact that I could bring class learning directly into my professional life made my time more productive. The routine imposed by my studies forced me to structure time for family and personal needs.”

MAKING IT POSSIBLE

“Ivey is very clear, even during the application process, about what the program entails and what to expect,” she continues. “Right from the start, they talk about taking care of yourself and your family. Ivey is very conscious of the impact on participants’ lives.”

Ivey helps candidates prepare to manage their studies. “Early on,” Liz says, “we were invited to a session where our partners were introduced to the workload and classroom experience. That went a long way to preparing my husband for what we were going to be going through. This is not just an individual program; it affects your whole family.”

The way Ivey structures the program is critical to balancing professional and educational demands. “By clustering class time over four days each month,” Liz says, “I had the flexibility to schedule both my professional and family obligations. At the same time, there were lots of opportunities to arrange project work and assignments around the schedules of each learning team.”

THE REWARDS

“Look, I live in London, traveled into Toronto two to three days a week for a demanding job, attended class session in Toronto while raising two young children, and managed to go to school and actually enjoyed it, it’s do-able. It’s do-able for anyone who really wants to apply themselves; not just for the credentials but to enjoy the journey.

And yes, it was a challenge, but I had the desire to do it for years. I reached a point in my life and career where it started to make a lot of sense. I had the experience to know what I was missing and at the same time enough experience to know that I had a great deal more to contribute. And in the end, it’s been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.”

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