

Schirr opened my eyes to how I could use my last year at Radford to get the most out of the resources here,” says the senior marketing major from Leesburg, who is scheduled to complete her undergraduate degree in May 2020.

“Wait, I can do that?” is the question Courtenay Kaplan asked MBA Director Gary Schirr, Ph.D., when he suggested she begin graduate work as a senior undergraduate. Kunkel, and other faculty members in the Davis College of Business and Economics, encouraged Jessie to begin working early on her MBA though the accelerated program. “You can never have too much education,” Jessie says, echoing words she heard from Associate Professor of Management Danylle Kunkel, Ph.D., not long ago. Jessie sees herself someday creating an AI system that uses machine learning to utilize information from many sources – traffic, weather, school closings and more – to forecast the proper amounts of product she should prepare for her food truck on a particular day.
HIGH SCHOOL DREAMS GELATO CODE
She and other students in the AI class are learning to code for artificial intelligence systems. “I’m learning a lot through research for the class about how artificial intelligence is being implemented to help owners of food trucks and restaurants, and how I can use that to give my future food truck business an edge.” Until enrolling in the AI class for managers this semester, “I never thought of how artificial intelligence and food trucks can work together,” Jessie says.
HIGH SCHOOL DREAMS GELATO SOFTWARE
“Learning in class to use software and to look at data is teaching me a lot about how that information is used to make better business decisions,” Jessie says. However, after enrolling in Radford’s MBA program, through the accelerated program as an undergraduate management major, she realized many of the concepts she was learning in class would be practical and beneficial to her long-term goal of preparing and selling tasty treats to the public. Initially, Jessie wondered if getting an MBA was necessary to become an entrepreneur, for “being my own boss,” she says. “It’s a way to be a social enterprise and give back to the community,” she says. So much so, she wanted to share it with others, and that is when the idea of a gelato food truck whet her appetite for delving into entrepreneurship. Jessie discovered gelato when she was in high school and “became obsessed,” she admits. The program is helping Jessie get an early start on earning her MBA, and it is getting her a step closer to initiating sweet happiness among those around her. Students whose GPA meets requirements may take one to four MBA graduate courses during their undergraduate studies.Īpply now to the Radford University MBA program The program is open to all undergraduate students, regardless of major, with at least a 3.2 GPA, to get a head start on graduate courses. Jessie is earning her master’s in business administration degree through the accelerated program offered by the University’s Davis College of Business and Economics. Someday, after completing her MBA at Radford University, she plans to own a food truck that offers the delicious treat, as well as a host of other sweet and savory delectables. “Everyone.”Ĭoming from a family that is part Italian – on her mother’s side – Jessie knows firsthand the smile-inducing joy the creamy dessert can bring to people.

“Everyone is happy when they eat gelato,” Jessie insists. When Jessie Quesenberry first heard she could take Master of Business Administration (MBA) courses as a college senior, she had little idea that doing so could help her reach her long-term goal of making the world a happier place through serving up gelato.
