Gaining an international perspective
Over the last five years, I have had the opportunity to manage nearly $100 million dollars in energy projects. Not all projects have been successful, and some were more successful than they deserved to be. However, in life, leadership, and business, hindsight is often 20/20.
Six months ago, I walked into the office on my 28th birthday. I expected it to be like any other Monday. My cellphone was glued to my ear and the typical Monday morning fires had already begun. Once through the front door, I was met in the hallway. I was told to put the proverbial fire extinguisher down. I was being laid off. Being laid off, on my birthday, nonetheless, was a great moment of clarity for me. It was the sledgehammer I needed to breakthrough my own comfort zone to pursue what I knew was next for me and my career.
I began exploring MBA programs in the summer of 2019. I knew then that I was ready for change. I wanted to pivot my career from an operations focus to a more strategic role. After numerous interviews with different companies over the past year, I came to understand there was a disconnect between my past work experiences and what I knew was my new path forward. An MBA was never in my plans and frankly quite opposite from my desires. In evaluating my options and mapping out potential paths, I explored the MBA route almost as a last resort. In that process though, I quickly realized that an MBA was not a stodgy piece of paper but could become anything you made it to be.
This realization freed me to layout the bridge and path I needed to connect my past work to my new future. In bouncing my thoughts off other professionals and mentors, I came to see an MBA as an opportunity to invest in myself. To pause, reflect, reset, and find the space to carve out my path in a new, changing economy. At American University, I found that space.
I chose American’s dual MBA/MA in International Economic Relations as it reflected the best bridge forward for me. Built on the foundation of an MBA’s focus and paved with the global insight of an MA, the dual degree program seemed best prepared to equip me to lead in both the private and public sector. This was key to me because I see the private and public interests increasingly intertwined. Multinational firms are facing more barriers to their business from trade uncertainties, immigration and workforce complexities, and explicit, State-level power competition. For me to develop holistic strategies, to step into these issues confidently, and to lead at all levels, I felt the dual degree program offered the most diverse network, seeded a unique perspective, and provided multiple, credible frameworks to navigate global issues. When coupled with its Washington, DC location, the epicenter of international policy and business, I knew American is where I wanted to be.
With my first set of finals now complete, hindsight again is 20/20. When I was laid off, it was an inflection point. My personal experience reflected the greater change happening in lives all around the world. Having the blessing and opportunity to choose to work, invest, and spring forward my career is not lost on me. My short time at American, though, has made this transition easier and affirmed that my work here is laying the groundwork for my next chapter.
- Brent Bowles, MBA/MA














