Gies College of Business

Thompson uses online MBA experience to respond to pandemic on two fronts

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May 7, 2020 Business Administration Student


iMBA student Jason Thompson is contributing to COVID response on two fronts: His company supplies biofuel to paper mills, which create a fiber product used in personal protective gear. He is also Chair of the Board of Trustees for New Hanover Regional Medical Center.

Friends and family questioned why a 50-year-old successful business owner would go back to school to get an online MBA.

“I wasn’t looking for a promotion and I wasn’t going to fire myself, but today if you don’t get a graduate degree you’re at a disadvantage. I did not want to miss out on an opportunity to grow,” said Jason Thompson, who runs American Property Experts, one of North Carolina’s largest recycling companies. “A lot of people at this age think it is too late to get an advanced degree because they are too established in their careers. But there’s so much value in this next step in education.”

Gies College of Business
515 East Gregory Drive
Champaign, IL 61820
Phone: 217-300-7327