My journey to Fuqua has been a bit different from many of my classmates. In July 2023, I left a company where I thought I’d stay for many years and moved to Durham to join my husband, who was pursuing his Ph.D at Duke. Ten months later, I gave birth to my first baby at Duke Hospital.

During that time, I often asked myself, “Are you truly satisfied with your role as a wife and mom?” My honest answer was no.

I’ve always believed that titles and roles are something I should define for myself — not something assigned by others. Pursuing a degree was a way to redefine myself beyond being a wife and mother and to invest in the professional identity I wanted to build. Choosing Fuqua was an easy and natural decision for this new chapter, as I had seen how students, including those balancing parenting, were thriving and shaping their own paths.

Eventually, my passion for data analytics led me to the MQM program, where I could fully immerse myself in business analytics.

Managing My Time To Maximize Results

One of the toughest challenges in this program is time management. We’re essentially doing what many master’s students do in two years, but in just ten months. Classes, assignments, team projects, recruiting… everything happens at once.

Time management is something every MQM student struggles with, yet it’s also the key to a successful experience. Many students handle it remarkably well, finding their own balance and rhythm.

For me, the challenge is even greater. My available study time is roughly 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. — mostly filled with classes and team meetings — and a few quiet hours at the end of the day after putting my son to bed. Weekends are reserved entirely for family.

So, my mission has been clear: manage time strategically and stay productive. Through this journey, I’ve found three strategies that have been especially powerful.

1. Plan Ahead

If you don’t know what challenges are coming, it’s hard to stay ahead of them. Being unprepared can easily lead to wasted time and stress. The key is to understand your own capacity and anticipate the workload you’ll face, then plan your time and resources strategically.

Before the program started, I reached out to current students and asked in detail how much time they typically spent on classes, assignments, and team meetings each week. Using that information, I created a mock schedule that combined academic tasks with family responsibilities. Then, my whole family practiced following it together. It was almost like a rehearsal for the real semester!

Of course, unexpected things always happen, and flexibility is essential. But having a realistic picture of what to expect and preparing as much as I could helped me settle into the new, intense schedule much faster and manage my time more effectively.

2. Narrow Your Focus

Once you’re in the program, you’ll find so many wonderful opportunities outside the classroom — club activities, leadership roles, social events, and more. All of them are great ways to expand your network, build new skills, and contribute to the Fuqua community. But it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by so many options and to feel pressured to join everything.

I used to take on multiple responsibilities at once and kept myself busy all the time. However, being in a situation where I had to carefully choose how to spend my limited time taught me something important: focusing on a few things that truly matter to you can be just as powerful as doing many things.

During the program, countless events and opportunities will come your way. Before saying yes, take a moment to ask yourself whether it aligns with your goals and capacity. Don’t be afraid to prioritize and focus deeply on what you really care about — people will remember how thoughtfully and passionately you engaged, not how many activities you joined.

3. Ask for Help

If you ever feel overloaded with daily tasks or responsibilities, don’t hesitate to reach out to your teammates, the MQM program support team, friends, or family.

Time management is ultimately your own responsibility, but finding better ways to manage your time can become a shared effort. Before the program started, I spoke with the MQM program team about my concerns, including how to balance my studies and family. They took my situation seriously, discussed possible solutions with me, and even reached out to Duke-wide resources on my behalf. My teammates have also been incredibly understanding and proactive. We constantly communicate and adjust to ensure our team works efficiently while supporting each other’s needs.

This program is undeniably intensive, and time management will always be a challenge. But in many ways, it reflects real life after graduation — when we’ll face multiple deadlines and competing priorities in our professional and personal lives.

I’ve come to see this experience not as a struggle, but as an opportunity to understand my capacity, experiment with strategies, and receive feedback in a supportive environment. Every challenge has helped me grow, both as a student and as a professional.