Tina Ashby’s transition from a successful career in the business world to home life was a difficult but rewarding one.
“It was quite an adjustment to become a full-time, stay-at-home mom, but I embraced it quickly,” she says. “It was difficult not receiving pay or accolades from work, but seeing the greater impact I had on my children made the sacrifices totally worth it.”
After earning her MBA from BYU, Ashby began her business career working for a Big Eight accounting firm in the San Francisco Bay area. Soon after, she took a position with Catholic Healthcare West, her favorite client, as assistant director of finance. She was promoted to director of finance within a year. When her husband was accepted to the UCLA general surgery program, Ashby worked part time as special projects manager for UCLA’s Business Enterprises Division.
“I was able to accomplish things in five years that, without my MBA, would have taken four times longer,” she says.
Since retiring after the birth of her third child, Ashby has maintained her business skills working from home for Catholic Healthcare West, writing for the LDS Church, and volunteering in the community. She has dedicated her energies to the public school system as a classroom volunteer, PTA board member, and PTA president.
Ashby continues to use her MBA experience in her home and community in Farmington, Utah.
“My daughter had to do a survey for school and figure out what was the best way to survey people and how to analyze the data,” she says. “That was a snap for me, and we had a lot of fun doing it together.”
While transitioning from office to home was a challenge, Ashby has seen the positive effects of earning an MBA in all aspects of her life.
“In areas outside my career, my business school training has helped me be more effective in volunteer leadership and teaching positions,” she says. “I have drawn on the skills of my MBA education to run civic programs and even in managing my home.”
