After earning two bachelor’s degrees from Olivet Nazarene University (ONU) — a Bachelor of Science in Marketing Commercial Graphics and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art, Photography — Noah Sears ’23 knew he wanted to learn more about marketing. As he began to investigate his options, he discovered two paths simultaneously.
“I approached ONU’s marketing department about possible job opportunities,” Noah says. “As I talked with George Wolff ’93 of the marketing team, I began to make a plan for my future.”
Noah was able to combine his love for marketing, his love for pole vaulting and his desire to continue learning. Through ONU’s NEXT program, he received a tuition discount for graduate studies as a recent undergraduate and enrolled in the Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree program with a focus on corporate communications and media strategy. He will complete that degree in 2025. In addition, he accepted a graduate assistant position as Junior Project Manager and Creative Assistant for Marketing and began serving as the pole vault coach for Athletics.
On the Grad School Track
“ONU’s MBA program works well with my work and life schedule,” Noah says. “I take 1 or 2 classes at a time, and each class is 8 weeks long. This is a 2-year program, but my advisor helped me design an accelerated track to finish in 18 months. I’m learning a lot about the benefits of persistence.”
Noah and his sister, Hannah ’21 B.S. (Corporate Communications) and B.S. (Business Administration), are in the same MBA cohort and are taking a lot of classes together. Hannah works as an admissions counselor for ONU. “Hannah and I study together on Saturday mornings,” he says. “We share ideas and support each other on this MBA journey. It’s a challenging and fun way for me to gain deeper understanding of the material we’re covering in our classes.”
One of the unexpected benefits for Noah as he works with Olivet’s marketing team is seeing his co-workers actually using what he is learning in his MBA program. “I recognize what excellent leaders my supervisors are,” he says. “I see real world examples of how what I am learning is actually implemented. Each week in my job, I’m working with SEO, data, links, videos, photos and many other marketing tools to reach ONU’s target audience. I supervise a student employee, and he is shadowing me so he can learn more about marketing. All this experience helps me contribute in valuable ways to our MBA class discussions.”
Merging Past, Present and Future
As a high school senior, Noah applied only to ONU because he knew he wanted to be part of his family’s ONU legacy, which began with his great-grandparents, Bertha (Lopp) Sears ’39 and Kenneth Sears ’39. Other ONU graduates in his family include:
- Second generation: Sue Ann (Lyle) Sears ’70 B.S. (Elementary Education); Steven Sears Sr. ’70 B.A. (Sociology); John Hollis ’67 B.A. (Religion); Donna (Stirrat) Hollis ’65 B.A. (Elementary Education)
- Third generation: Jennifer (Harder) Sears ’01 B.S. (Psychology); Andrew Sears ’01 B.S. (Art); Christine (Truesdale) Sears ’96 B.S. (Accounting); David Sears ’96 B.A. (Elementary Education); Steven Sears Jr. ’94 B.A. (Business Administration); Juliene (Hollis) Sears ’95 B.S. (Elementary Education); Mark Hollis ’08 B.S. (Sport Management)
When he walked across the stage for his 2023 graduation as a fourth generation ONU graduate, Noah thought his life ahead was going to be less busy. Instead, he has discovered more ways to make his life meaningful. In 2023, he married Andree (Veydt) ’22 B.S. (Family and Consumer Sciences). Now, in addition to working and studying, he also coaches and mentors undergraduates, serves in his church, and is part of a small group.
Looking ahead, Noah is already seeing possibilities for starting his own business. His interest in ceramics plus the business, marketing, finance and communication skills he is gaining through the MBA program are fertile ground for becoming a business owner.
“Maybe my life won’t be less busy,” Noah says. “But now I know more about how to put attention to each area of my life, and how to be fully invested and present in what I’m doing. When people ask me about grad school, I tell them they should get their MBA from ONU. It can be challenging, but it’s definitely worthwhile.”
Learn more about ONU’s graduate degree programs at Olivet.edu/academics/graduate-programs. For more information or to enroll, email onlineadmissions@olivet.edu or call 877-465-4838.
