Two iMBA students named “Best & Brightest” by Poets&Quants

Two Gies College of Business iMBA students have been named to Poets&Quants’ 2022 Best & Brightest Online MBAs. Taylor Stratton, a 31-year-old working in the University of Colorado Boulder athletic department, and Eduardo Martins Rocha, a 39-year-old business services manager in Colombia, were named to this year’s prestigious list.

Taylor Stratton is a Colorado Springs native who is now working in the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics at the University of Colorado Boulder as the Program Manager/Head Coach of the Ralphie Live Mascot Program. Ralphie is the university’s live buffalo mascot. Taylor, who graduated from the iMBA program in 2022, had the responsibility of finding and training a replacement after Ralphie V retired in 2019. She and her team found and trained an orphan buffalo, Ralphie VI, which debuted as the youngest Ralphie with the shortest time frame for training.

“My favorite part [of being in an online MBA program] was the ability to keep progressing in my professional career while also pursuing an MBA,” said Stratton, who is up for a promotion this summer. “My undergraduate experience focused completely on natural sciences, so I loved learning about business and having a chance to apply some of my statistical background to new problems.”

Eduardo Martins Rocha, a native of Rio de Janeiro, has been living abroad for the last 14 years, and now works in Bogota, Colombia as a Global Business Services Performance Manager at Schlumberger. Eduardo has lived and worked in Malaysia, Oman, UAE, and other countries, and he says his proudest achievement is getting to work with an extremely diverse group of people, which has made his experience “very culturally enriching, exciting, and challenging.”

“When choosing an online MBA program, I was looking for a reputable school that delivers high-quality business education,” he said. “I was also interested in a program that leverages the latest technology, tools, and methodologies available to make the student experience as engaging as possible in a 100% virtual environment. Additionally, Gies College of Business’ mission and vision are very well aligned with my personal belief that democratizing education to break through financial and geographic barriers is essential to achieving higher human development worldwide.”