UHV graduate student reinvents herself during MBA program
When Anna Roberts enrolled in the Master of Business Administration program at the University of Houston-Victoria in January 2014, it was in the middle of a rather tumultuous time in her life.
“It was kind of not expected,” said Roberts, who will earn her MBA on Saturday. “I couldn’t have imagined all this stuff happening.”
Eventually, that “stuff” would include a trip to China and a chance to start anew, but, before that, a series of events led Roberts to take UHV businesses classes at the UH System at Cinco Ranch.
Roberts started her career in the loans and mortgage industry in the mid-1990s. In 2004, she was hired by Litton Loan Servicing, a company based in Houston that serviced residential mortgages to homeowners. Eventually, she was named the company’s vice president.
But in 2008, the market crashed, and in 2011, Litton Loan Servicing was bought out by Ocwen Loan Servicing. Roberts lost her job.
“When all this happened, my whole world turned upside down,” Roberts said.
She found work as a consultant. She was working on a consulting project when she started to seriously think again about going back to school.
“It was always a personal goal to get my MBA,” she said.
A single mother, Roberts knew she needed to stay close to her son. At first, she considered Houston Baptist University because she lived in Houston at the time. But she changed course, and a few days before classes began, she moved to Katy and enrolled at UHV.
Shortly thereafter, she became a full-time student. She threw herself into her studies, trying to attain the highest grades.
Roberts said her most amazing experience at UHV was the opportunity to study abroad. As one of 17 UHV students in the program during the summer of 2015, Roberts visited three cities in China, including Beijing.
While overseas, the group toured historical sites, visited a manufacturing plant and attended lectures given by Chinese professors. Roberts was able to attend because of a $1,500 scholarship, one of several she received during her time at UHV. The trip held special importance for Roberts because of her graduate degree’s concentration – international business.
She said she has found a home at UHV with the faculty, staff and her fellow students welcoming her. She also serves as the secretary of the Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society.
“UHV has given me an opportunity to reinvent myself,” she said.
Now that she’s on the verge of graduating, Roberts is thinking ahead. She said her dream job would be at a company with an international presence, and she’s looking forward to using the skills she learned at UHV to bridge the gap between her previous leadership experience and a new industry.
“The plan is to evaluate what I do next,” Roberts said. “I really want to do something different.”
I am a Jaguar is an online feature highlighting the exceptional students who attend the University of Houston-Victoria. To nominate a student, contact Jeremy Shapiro, UHV communications manager, or call 361-570-4296.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
