The Department of Business and Administration asks you to please join us in congratulating Alice Riley for being chosen as the November 2018 Student of the Month (SOTM). Alice is seeking a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree and is currently in her senior year. She also works for Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. as a Senior Project Manager supporting Human Resources.

Alice was selected as the SOTM for consistently demonstrating responsibility and outstanding communication skills in both her online and work environments.

An interview with Alice Riley

As a busy mom going to school and working full-time, spare time is rare for me; however, I do like to be productive and help others.  I like to contribute to my community by volunteering at local, non-profit organizations.

At this juncture in my life, it is very important to me to finish what I started. While my academic journey has been a long one, I’ve stuck with it knowing that one day all the homework and late nights will be worth it when I can say I am a college graduate.

Why NAU?

I started out at Paradise Valley Community College (PVCC) and when the time came to transfer to a university it was an easy choice to select NAU because classes were offered on-site through Extended Campuses.  I was able to continue going to the PVCC campus for classes (usually in the evening) until I switched to 100% online.  To balance family, work, and school, I needed flexibility and NAU’s online courses fit my busy schedule allowing me to continue pursuing my degree while working full time.

What motivates you to complete your degree?

Wanting to learn something new every day is a personal motivator for me. Therefore, continuing my education helps me to keep learning.  Secondly, I’ve always worked in a corporate environment and pursuing a BBA degree will help open doors to advancing my career in that environment.

What have you enjoyed most about the BBA program?

All the professors that I have had at NAU over the years have been fantastic.  I think what I’ve always enjoyed and what makes a class the most engaging and relevant is when there is a correlation between the curriculum and opportunities to share current real-world experiences.  I believe the professors at NAU do this and that is what makes the BBA program so great. Also one of the highlights from my experience at NAU is simply learning alongside people with varying backgrounds and in different stages of their life/career.

What do you want to see in your future?

I can honestly say I enjoy what I do because project management aligns with my skill set and natural talents.  In a few years I see myself still working for Charles Schwab & Co., but doing something different.  My goal is to move into a different role within the firm supporting a new enterprise, Digital Services, where I can learn a new function and still apply my natural talents.

What is your vision of success?

My vision is that success is a life long journey with many milestones along the way.  To quote Tony Robbins, author, entrepreneur, philanthropist and life coach, “The path to success is to take massive, determined action.” That’s how I’ve always tried to think about every aspect of my life, to approach that next goal, that next milestone with determination and therefore reach success not once but many times over.

From your experience, what advice would you offer incoming BBA students?

Soak up every bit of knowledge that you can and appreciate that everything you are learning is going to help you down the road whether you’re entering the business world and need to understand how to navigate in that environment or you want to be an entrepreneur and start your own business.  Every new experience can lead to something unexpected if you are open to it!

“Pursuing my bachelor’s degree has been a big part of my life story and it’s something that I knew I wanted to achieve no matter how long it took me.  I am so grateful and honored to be selected as the Department of Business & Administration’s Student of the Month.” – Alice Riley

Congratulations, Alice!