The number of possibilities that arise following the completion of a graduate degree are infinite. For Aaron White G’07, his KWU MBA took him from working in the grain elevator industry into economic and community development, where he is now the director of community development for Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
“I oversee the planning division, the inspections division, the housing division and the economic development division,” White said. “We touch pretty much all of the projects and construction that goes on in the community.”
Born in Iowa, White was not ready for the rigors or costs of academics following high school, so instead he joined the Marine Corps. And while he enjoyed his time in the Marines, “Infantry doesn’t have a lot of practical, transferrable skills to the civilian world. Learning weapons systems doesn’t do you much good unless you are going to be a mercenary.”
Convinced that was not the life for him, White instead finished out his tour, taking the transferrable skills of “lateral, or nontraditional thinking; the ability to adapt immediately to a changing environment” into an education at Buena Vista University, graduating magna cum laude.
Raised in a farming family, White took a job as a logistics coordinator with Cargill in 2000 and was transferred to Kansas in 2001.
“I coordinated truck and rail freight for local shipments, bought and sold grain across three states, worked with country elevators and worked with farmers helping move grain through Cargill facilities and then outbound grain out of Cargill facilities,” White said.
While with Cargill, his desire to pursue an MBA peaked, graduating with distinction from KWU. “I would not have achieved that had I gone to college out of high school. I had a strong work ethic from farming all those years, but the discipline (from the Marine Corps) helped me in my academic career moving forward.”
Working for Cargill during the day and taking classes at night, White was anything but a traditional student. However, being able to use his daily work experience helped him complete assignments.
“Kansas Wesleyan really broadened my knowledge base outside of a very select field,” White said. “That has been invaluable moving forward. I had a ton of in-field experience with business, doing contract management, etc., but that additional knowledge base on broader topics has been very beneficial and definitely accelerated my career going forward.”
Earning his MBA in 2007, he quickly transitioned out of the fields and into an office, working as the director, business retention and expansion for the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce for three-plus years. He and his family then moved west to Hays, when he became the executive director of the Ellis County Coalition for Economic Development. After six-plus years there, it was north to Wisconsin and Eau Claire.
“The roles I’ve had, the whole job is to help grow communities,” White said. “You’re growing job availability; you’re growing housing opportunities. My job is to ensure the community grows in a safe and well-planned manner. That’s very rewarding.”
Kansas Wesleyan left its impact on the White family, as his oldest daughter, Miranda (White) Graves, graduated from the Music program in 2012.
“Every class, every instructor, every professor was just fantastic,” White said of the MBA program. “It was a program that was really built around helping professionals advance their education.”
Learn more about the KWU MBA program.
