Executive Wine MBA
2017
Executive Wine MBA
2017
Corporate Commercial Analytics Manager
Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits
Merging Motherhood and a Master's Degree
Corporate Commercial Analytics Manager
Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits
You've completed the applications, written the essay, and aced the interview. You have your acceptance letter in hand, then life throws you a little surprise--a seven pound, four ounce one--to be specific. Graduate school often comes at the exact same time many of our students are making huge life changes like building a career, buying a home, beginning a relationship, or having a baby.
Being a parent allows students to leverage their life experience. It's a crash course in time management, relationship building, flexibility, leadership, and meeting deadlines with little to no sleep--all the skills needed to succeed in graduate school. Because of this, we thought it would be helpful to talk to someone who's been in this very situation and lived to tell the tale.
Sonoma Executive MBA in Wine Business (Wine 4) Alum Kate Landman '16 is a legend in our office. Not just because of her amazing analytical skills and creative talents, but also because she made it into the GEPO history books as the first student to embark on a two-week international consulting tour with her three-month-old baby (and hubby) in tow.
We caught up with Landman to see what it was like to manage motherhood and a master's degree program and to get a few tips for others who are heading down a similar path.
Communication Is Key
"It helped to talk to Administration and teachers directly and really communicate what was going on," says Landman. "When I did that, people were supportive."
Landman loved that the average age in her cohort was 37 so there were quite a few parents already. A lot of her classmates knew exactly what she was going through.
"I was able to work with my professors and my team," she says. "I could front-load during my pregnancy." She explained that since she worked with the same team for half of the program, there were different projects where each person could take the lead. "I over-achieved up front because I knew I'd have to juggle later," she says, "and it all evened out in the end."
Finding Support
Landman stresses the importance of having a support network. "I was super fortunate to have an amazing partner. My husband stepped in and made it possible to go to school and study."
She also leaned on help from her extended family. "In some ways, it was really great for a family and partner and parents. We got together and figured out how to make it happen and it really empowered my husband," says Landman. "A lot of dads are waiting for instructions, but because I was in school, he didn't do that, he was just like, 'I'm going to do this and figure this out.' It really changed our relationship for the better."
Landman admits it wasn't always easy though. "I thought, 'I'll have a baby and a degree' but I underestimated how exhausted I would be. It was challenging to learn new things with no sleep."
She recalls how before the baby was born, she would dive head-first into researching things: What was the best bottle? Which was the perfect Onesie? She went through a typical perfectionist phase common to so many new mothers.
"I was afraid I couldn't meet my own standards of being the best mom and the best student I could be," says Landman. Once her son was born, however, she realized as long as he was safe and well at the end of the day, they were doing OK. "I realized I could let some of that go."
Being Present
Over time, Landman says she came to appreciate how focused she could be in each area of her life.
"Doing this program for myself was making me a better mom. I learned that I could go to school, be 100% in school and not feel guilty." She said this forced her to make the best use of her time. "I could be 100% focused on what I was doing. I realized it was important to be present, wherever I was--not to rob either."
Knowing Your Rights
"It was tough at times. I was breastfeeding, leaving class to pump." She was surprised by how little some of her classmates knew about the topic. They didn't understand all of the stress and effort nursing could entail. "There's a lot of taboo about it," says Landman. "I kind of made it my mission to share and not to be embarrassed."
This is why it is so important for students, especially moms, to know their rights. For example, California's 2015 law, Assembly Bill 302, allows for reasonable accommodations and breaks for mothers to express milk for a nursing child.
"I want to draw attention to the challenge of being a breastfeeding student. The reality of breastfeeding, in the beginning, is that you need to feed or pump every 2 or 3 hours or face intense pain, leaking, or possible infection," says Landman. "I didn't think about breastfeeding at all until my baby was born, let alone the accommodation I would need in terms of time and space to express milk. If there is one piece of advice I could give to pregnant students, it would be to make plans for your lactation accommodation before your baby arrives."
Embracing the Adventure
Halfway through the program, Landman took the infamous International trip to France and South Africa with her cohort.
"It was fun and crazy," says Landman. "There were really high-highs and really low-lows."
She confessed to being worried about all of the wrong things. She was concerned about the flight but her baby slept the whole way.
"The time difference was huge," she said. "He was up all night, then in the morning, he was ready to go to sleep. On the bus my classmates were like, 'You have the best baby!'"
Despite the toll on their sleep cycles, Landman says that the trip was well worth the effort. "It was really cool. Something I'll remember forever--wine tasting at Dom Perignon with my son and husband--all of us together. It kind of just worked out. That was my take away from this, I could bring my whole self to the program."
Staying Open to New Possibilities
Before graduation, Landman had an introduction from one of her professors with an Executive at Southern Glazer Wine & Spirits, the largest wine and spirits distributor in the United States.
Landman says that while the opportunity came unexpectedly and she had to reorient what her future would look like, she knew she wanted to take the job as Corporate Commercial Analytics Senior Manager.
"The school experience--doing something hard--taught me I could do this too," says Landman. "I felt lucky to have something I was pursuing myself. Because there was this whole other part of my life, learning new skills and reading articles, it helped me connect with my identity."
Going to graduate school while being a parent taught Landman that even though things often work out a little differently than expected, it's possible to roll with the challenges. And sometimes things turn out even better than you ever could have planned.
"This job is the dream job that I wanted when I entered the program," says Landman. "I kind of pinch myself sometimes that everything worked out so perfectly."