Phillip Manville attended the University of Georgia as a graduate student, earning a Master of Business and Technology degree. Phillip chose to pursue an online degree due to the difficulty of traveling away from his job as a web developer at Central Georgia Technical College. He attributes his positive experience with the MBT program to his eager professors and peers focused on teamwork.

 

Q: Where are you from?

Phillip: I’m from an area of Central Georgia called Warner Robins.  Mostly known for its Air Force Base and being near Macon.

 

Q: Where do you work now and what do you do?

Phillip: I currently work for the technical college system, specifically Central Georgia Technical College as a Web Developer/DBA/other duties assigned.  I’ve been there going on 6 years now with plans to hopefully seek new opportunities using the MIT (now MBT) degree from UGA as the backbone to my professional experience.

 

Q: What made you decide to earn your degree from the University of Georgia?

Phillip: My decision to earn my Master’s at Georgia stemmed from many great sources. I work with several individuals who also have earned either an undergrad or higher from UGA.  Specifically, Terry School of Business. They have had nothing but great things to say about their experiences. Me personally, I have always been an admirer of the school and the rich history in its background. Runs in the family I suppose! I always had plans to return to school one day after my undergrad (2010) to pursue and earn a masters, and that it would be my final degree. Along with that, I wanted it to mean something more than something to just hang on the wall. Traveling was an issue so I had to plan for online course offerings. I did some research into several programs for what they had available for grad students. Throughout my search, I kept coming back to the MIT program of UGA and made it official summer of 2015 to start that Fall.  It was like a little bulldog barking in my ear the whole time! To learn from our instructors like Dr. Piercy was amazing. They were always eager to educate, help, and show us what they knew from real field experiences in the world of business technology. And they continue to help us in anyway they can. To top it all off, I had the pleasure of working with some amazing people in my cohort. We had some long nights of meetings and scratching our heads trying to help each other, but the experience brought us closer and we went from being unknown acquaintances just starting out, to a team with the mission of finishing on top! I think we achieved that!

 

Q: What advice would you give current or future online students?

Phillip: If I had to give advice to future prospective online students, I would tell them to understand it is a commitment. Treat it as if you would a class in a traditional setting. Communicate with your instructors frequently so they can understand you and vice versa. Meet your peers and get to know each other all the same. For us, video chat rooms worked tremendously. Above all, do not lose sight of your goals to be able to walk across the stage with your team!