Student Life is Possible for Working and/or Online Graduate Students

Heather Stewart is the first Online MBA student to become president of the Zicklin Black Graduate Student Society (ZBGSS). In a recent interview, she shares her vision for the club as well as how she balances student life with her academic and professional responsibilities.

Heather Stewart is an Online MBA student at the Zicklin School of Business and is expected to graduate in 2027. She works in the Treasurer’s Office in Connecticut, which began as an internship and eventually transformed into a full-time role. Outside of work, Heather loves walking along the beaches of Connecticut with her puppy, Parker, and enjoys sipping on a glass of wine in the vineyards during the summer.

Myth: Enjoy college while it lasts, undergrads. If you’re planning on getting a master's, know that grad school is not the same. If you especially plan on working while pursuing a second degree, you can say goodbye to student life – there’s just not enough time for that.  

Myth Debunked: Heather is pursuing an MBA, is working full-time, and is the newly elected president for a student club called the Zicklin Black Graduate Student Society (ZBGSS). Yes, on top of classes, assignments, work, and personal life, there’s student life – and Heather makes time for that.  

Back in 2024, Heather sought student community as she began her MBA journey. Her goal was to participate in an organization that supported her and that gave her the opportunity to make an impact on other students’ lives. When she discovered ZBGSS, she found a community in which she felt understood, that aligned with her values, and that would allow her to help other students in their professional journeys. “When I was in undergraduate school,” Heather recalled, “I found myself lost a bit because I am a first-generation African American student. I did not have anyone at home to lean on...So in undergrad, I mentored first-generation students who needed direction. When I came to the Zicklin School, I wanted to do the same. I found a space in ZBGSS to do that.”  

In fact, ZBGSS is dedicated to fostering professional growth and success among all graduate students and prides itself on being committed to empowering, uplifting, and supporting members towards excellence in an inclusive environment. ZBGSS particularly exposes students to opportunities at the Zicklin School. Other than through events, the club accomplishes this by partnering and collaborating with industry leaders and other organizations like the National Black MBA Association, New York Chapter. Further, ZBGSS “welcome[s] everyone to be themselves, express who they are, and understand that they have support from the club,” Heather affirmed. “We want to let everyone know that if you’re looking for a place to be yourself and explore opportunities outside of the ones that you have, you can find it here.” The club also operates on a hybrid capacity, offering both in-person and virtual events, including both professional and social gatherings: “We work hard, but we also play hard,” Heather stated. 

Balancing Student Life with Classes and Work 

To balance responsibilities with extracurriculars, Heather blocks out time for work, for class assignments, and for club meetings. If she plans on attending an on-campus event, she informs her managers ahead of time. To Heather, it’s important to engage in school life outside of classes, especially if the classes are online where there are limited opportunities to interact with other students. “Everything is done behind the screen when you are an online student,” Heather said. “I wanted more out of my MBA program and so I knew that outside of class, I had to be intentional about experiencing my MBA in its entirety.” 

Running For Club President 

Heather initially did not want to run for president of ZBGSS. Instead, she was focused on her role as the club’s Outreach Chair and on fostering student engagement. Not seeing the results she wanted, Heather began to cold-call (and she’s very good at cold-calling) industry leaders and invite them to speak to the club. Her success in bringing in leaders, her tenacity, and her grit eventually attracted the attention of the club eBoard. Members of the eBoard therefore encouraged Heather to run for president.  

Heather’s Vision for ZBGSS 

As president, Heather is working on increasing club engagement by encouraging club members to participate in school competitions. “I’m bringing the competitions to the students who would otherwise not see these [opportunities], because as working students, a lot of times, information slips by us. And we think we can’t enter these competitions because we’re working students, which is false. We can schedule the time... You just have to be intentional,” Heather claimed. 

So, is student life possible for graduate students? The answer is yes. As Heather has shown, engaging with school outside of classes just takes some intentional scheduling and dedicating blocks of time to different priorities in your life. Of course, every graduate student’s experience is different and for some, there really may not be any time for extracurricular school activities. Perhaps you have a demanding job that requires long hours when you’re not in class, or perhaps you have a family to raise, or maybe you are part of a garage band and that’s extracurricular enough... Even so, just know, the clubs are here – ZBGSS is here – rooting for you and ready to welcome you whenever you get the chance to stop by.  

PLUG: Join ZBGSS for a mixer on October 12th from 5pm-8pm! Location TBA.  

About the author: Elizabeth Moy is a graduate student in the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at Baruch College, pursuing an MA in Corporate/Strategic Communication. She is also a College Assistant with the Zicklin Graduate Career Management Center.