Olivia King

Olivia King, jersey number 20, is a graduate transfer student-athlete obtaining her Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Norwich University Online. 

What made Norwich's online MBA program the right choice for you after finishing your undergraduate studies at the University of Maine?

I think the biggest thing for me was that I could complete it in one year. Most other schools I looked at offered a two-year MBA, and some of them weren't online. I really liked the fact that I could get my MBA done in one year and play hockey at the same time. Once I'm done playing hockey, I can move home and get started on a full-time job.

How has Norwich's online format helped you to balance your graduate course work with the demands of playing hockey?

It was great, and I really liked it. My first 11-week class started in June, and then everyone gets a one-week break before starting the next class. Every assignment is due every Saturday night, so you get a week to do everything. I’ve rarely needed extensions, but the professors are always great about it. One time I remember in particular was during the Microsoft [CrowdStrike] outage. My flight home was canceled, and I had assignments due that night. They extended all the assignments an extra day.

The online format helps me to learn everything. There's no stress about getting assignments in because you have a week to do everything. It's great.

What has been your biggest challenge in completing a fully online graduate program while also competing at a high level in hockey?

One of the challenges I’ve faced is that since this is a graduate program, a lot of the other students are much older than me. They have a family, kids, etc., and sometimes it is difficult to relate to them. Despite it being a challenge, I have learned much from my group assignments. The way the older students work and communicate has pushed me to be my best. We take turns as the lead on group projects, and I know when it is my turn that I want everything to be perfect because that is the standard we all hold for each other. It hasn’t been so much a challenge, more so adjusting to something different than I am used to.

Are there any specific business courses or concepts from your Norwich degree that have already helped you out in the world?

My first class was big on behaviors, and we had to take two personality tests. That showed me how I work with people and what my habits are when I communicate with people. It was cool to see because it helped me understand why I work better with certain people, like on my hockey team, for example, or at work. Everyone’s personalities are quite different, so that was interesting to learn about. Actually, a few months ago, we took personality tests as a hockey team. That was funny because I already knew my personality type from the tests I took in my graduate course. It was cool to learn my teammates’ personality types and see why some of us work better with others.

Do you think that you'll take that (knowing your personality) forward into your career after school?

Definitely. It also gives me a place to start and shows me what to work on to be a better leader, in particular. My personality test showed me where I was as a leader, and if I saw something on my personality test that I wanted to work on, I could tackle it. One of the things I’m working on is speaking up more in a group setting, which will help me in the future.

What do you think has been the key to the team's success this year?

It comes down to our team and our coaches coming together. They're great! Our coaches bring lots of energy to every practice, and they have such high expectations for us because they know what we're capable of as a team. I feel like any time in practice, if we lack energy or aren't as on top of things as we should be, our coaches call us out for it. They know that we're capable of a lot more, and when we're not giving 100%. I appreciate them calling us out and holding us accountable. We also did a lot of team bonding over Christmas break, which was a lot of fun and helped us out a bit. I think just playing our game is important.

Did you have any struggles integrating with the team as an online student?

Honestly, no. The only issue I had was being unfamiliar with the campus as a fifth-year transfer student, so it took some time to get familiar with the names of places. Also, it’s interesting because I was one of the younger students in my coursework and an older student on the team (as a fifth year). 

How do you see your MBA from Norwich contributing to your future career?

My undergrad degree is in chemical engineering, and all through my undergrad program I did internships at paper mills. That has been my post-graduation plan. When I decided to do a fifth year of school, I knew I wanted to get my MBA because it was a graduate degree that I found would be most useful for me and help me down the line. Eventually, my MBA will be useful in opening a business, but I will be leaning on my undergrad degree at first.

If you were to open a business, what kind of business would it be?

My dream is to open a brewery. I want to make my own craft bears and combine chemical engineering with my MBA to be successful. I think that'd be so fun.

You went after your MBA even though you don’t plan to use it right away. Why did you make that move now rather than later?

I think it would be harder for me to get back into school later once I've been out of school for a while. That was one thing that made me want to do it. Another thing was that I had a fifth year of eligibility from the COVID years for hockey that I didn’t want to waste. There was nothing else I wanted to study because I wanted to make sure I chose something I would be most interested in applying at some point in the future. If I were to study anything, I wanted it to be an MBA, and I wanted it to be a one-year kind of thing. It was a perfect match. 
 

What has playing hockey at Norwich taught you that you'll carry forward into your career?

I think it taught me discipline and not to give up. You meet many people who have worked hard to play collegiate hockey. I think the number one thing I've learned is always to give it your all. Even at practices, there are people on my team that go so hard every single day. It's cool to see, and I feed off that. I think I've learned a lot about staying disciplined. If you're working on something, it’s about showing up early or working on on-ice skills, for example. I use extra ice time to work on skills I want to perfect for hockey. I think I will carry that over into my job or whatever I do after graduation. If I'm not good at something or confident in something, I’ve learned that putting the time to work on it is effective.

What advice would you give to other student-athletes who were considering taking an online graduate degree?

I would 100% recommend it. I think it's a different pace than undergrad. I have a week to do each assignment, so I can work two jobs and have plenty of time for hockey and school. I do a lot with my schedule and still finish my homework, which is nice. The fact that it is online makes it so much easier because even though you're not going on campus and getting to talk to people in person, you still have Teams meetings, Zoom meetings, etc. You also get plenty of practice interacting with your classmates over discussion posts every week. I think that the curriculum is designed like that on purpose to provide that interaction. I just think it's great.
 

Would you say that it would be a good idea for someone to get their MBA at Norwich?

Yes, I do. I keep telling one of my friends about the program. She goes to the school where I used to go, and I told her about this professor I had here. She taught my first class, and now she teaches my current class. She's the nicest professor I think I've ever had. She called me before my first class started, and then called me again before my second class started just to talk about the class and to see if I had any questions. Whenever I email her, she answers me right away. She's really nice and is probably the best professor I've ever had. Norwich’s MBA program has been providing a great experience.

Looking back on your journey, what advice would you share with younger athletes so they could end up where you are?

My advice to younger athletes would be to just be in the moment. When I was a freshman, I didn't think I would ever do a fifth year or that I would be going for my MBA. Just go at your own pace and set your goals high. Lastly, have fun because college goes by quickly, even if you get a fifth year.