Executive master’s degree takes working professionals global — and back to lead

For most of her adult life, Kathy Hager didn’t imagine herself going back to school.

After earning her bachelor’s degree, she built a career, raised a family, and kept the many moving pieces of work and home in motion. A graduate degree didn’t seem to fit the life she was already living.

And yet, the idea never fully disappeared.

As business manager in the Office of the Vice President for Outreach and International Affairs, Hager helps move complex initiatives forward, supporting programs that connect Virginia Tech to communities across the commonwealth and around the world. The work is steady and detailed. At its core, it’s global.

She paused after reading about the Executive Master of Natural Resources program, offered through the Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability in the College of Natural Resources and Environment.

“I got really excited about what the program had to offer,” she said. So she decided to take the leap.

In December, Hager completed the Executive Master of Natural Resources, an accelerated degree designed for working professionals. The program focuses on leadership for sustainability, helping students build the “four C’s” — competencies, confidence, connections, and credentials — while continuing to work full time.

Designed for careers already in motion

The Executive Master of Natural Resources program meets one weekend a month, either virtually or at Academic Building One in Alexandria, with coursework completed online between sessions. The format is structured but flexible, built for people whose careers are already underway.

“Our goal is to help students have more influence at work and impact in their communities,” said David Robertson, director of the program. “What students take from the classroom and bring back to their workplace increases their capacity to lead and add value.” 

The design, he said, reflects the reality of mid-career life: full calendars, family responsibilities, and professional obligations that don’t pause for graduate school.

Amy Hubbard ’17, Executive Master of Natural Resources program coordinator, often speaks with prospective students who wonder whether returning to school makes sense at this stage of their careers.

“It’s never too late to invest in your personal and professional development,” Hubbard said. “You’re learning alongside peers with similar interests and motivations, with faculty committed to walking alongside you.”

That sense of shared purpose resonated with Hager.

“The program emphasizes leading from where you are,” Hager said. “You don’t have to have a position or title to lead systemic change and innovation.”

Robertson said that philosophy has guided the program since its first cohort in 2011. Sustainability challenges often demand scientific and technical expertise, he said. They also require collaboration across sectors and cultures — skills that extend far beyond environmental professions. 

For Hager, the coursework sharpened her ability to think in systems and see how decisions ripple outward, giving her language for work she was already doing.

A global lens

A defining component of the Executive Master of Natural Resources is its global study capstone, culminating in a 10-day international immersion.

For Hager’s cohort, that meant Mexico.

Students explored water security, climate resilience, agriculture, and community-based economic development through partnerships with organizations such as Isla Urbana and Mezcal Amarás. They examined how public-private collaboration can strengthen communities while preserving land, culture, and livelihoods.

One of the most lasting lessons was personal.

In meetings conducted primarily in Spanish, Hager relied on context, tone, and patience, aware of how much nuance she could not fully understand. She listened more closely, paying attention to what was happening beyond the words.

“It gave me a new perspective and respect for those individuals who come to the U.S. and speak very little English,” she said. “It takes a lot of courage, strength, and resilience to make that journey.”

The experience deepened her understanding of cross-cultural collaboration — central to the work of Outreach and International Affairs — and prompted her to continue studying Spanish.

The leap

Completing the degree while working full time required trade-offs.

“For 12 months, my life was work and school,” Hager said. She missed family gatherings that fell on class weekends and learned to protect small pockets of time to recharge. Colleagues stepped in. So did family.

“It will be hard,” she said of pursuing an executive degree. “There will be days that are ridiculously difficult, but nothing is insurmountable.”

Back in her full-time role, Hager is applying what she learned in practical ways. Her work with a new Chile study abroad initiative for undergraduates has taken on added dimension, informed by the systems thinking and global perspective developed in the program.

“It changed how I think about my role,” she said. “I’ve been applying these skills in my day-to-day activities.”

The year of study, she said, did not pull her away from the work she values. It reshaped how she returns to it.