When I decided to apply to the Weekend Executive MBA program, I was still asking myself one basic question: Why am I doing this?

I was stuck in my career, and my life felt a bit routine. Work, family, vacations — everything was fine, but something was missing. I didn’t know exactly how the MBA would help, but I hoped it would give me the push I needed.

I chose Duke because it is a strong school and close to where I live. When I got accepted, I was happy but also unsure. I didn’t have all the answers, but I would soon learn that I didn’t need them to experience a big transformation.

Diving Into the Curriculum

The first few terms were exciting because I was back in a classroom after many years, surrounded by smart classmates, and learning from everyone. But as the program continued, the pressure increased.

Term 3 was especially hard because in addition to my three courses, I took on the Fuqua Client Consulting Practicum (FCCP). FCCP is a hands-on course where a few classmates and I worked with a real business client to complete a consulting project. Our client was Tapestry Networks, and our project focused on helping them shape a go-to-market plan for a new executive education initiative.

There were weeks when I told myself, “I can’t wait for this to be over.” Still, I kept going. Looking back, I now understand something important: the program will push you in ways you don’t expect.

Later in the program, we begin choosing our electives, and this is when I started to gain more clarity. Exploring new subjects helped me understand the gaps in how I think. Finance was a surprise because I enjoyed it more than I expected, and it made me look at decisions differently. For my last term, I chose Value Chain because I want to understand how companies work end-to-end. These choices made me more curious and gave me a clearer sense of the big picture.

Expanding My Capacity for Efficiency

But the biggest impact did not come from any single course; instead, it came from the overall rigor of the program. I started to understand how much time I was wasting in my everyday life before earning my MBA. I always said, “I don’t have time,” but the truth was that I was not efficient.

This program forced me to build discipline. I learned to break tasks into small steps, work early instead of late, and focus only on the things that truly mattered.

This new discipline also changed the way I work. People often ask how I manage full-time commitments at work, at home, and at school. Recently, I was given the responsibility of turning around a couple of struggling projects. I was able to handle them quickly, and a senior leader told me he didn’t know how I did it while studying at Duke. The answer is simple: I became more efficient. I stopped joining meetings where I could not contribute, and I spent more time in short one-to-one discussions where I could get real information. I also became more mindful of not wasting other people’s time.

I am an introvert, so I don’t always join big group events. I connect better through simple activities like ping pong or pickleball, or through one-to-one conversations where I can really understand the other person. Even with this style, I formed a few meaningful connections in the program, and I value those a lot. It reminded me that you don’t need to be loud to feel included — sometimes one or two strong relationships are enough.

Now that I’m near the end of the program, I can see how much I have changed. My next challenge is to keep this mindset alive and not fall back into old habits.

For future students who might be like me — uncertain, stuck, or wondering if the Weekend Executive MBA program can help — I would say that you don’t need to have all the answers at the beginning. Pick courses that stretch how you think. Build relationships in your own way. Stay open. At first, I was worried about the return on investment from the tuition I was paying. Now I feel that the personal growth I experienced is priceless.