A Chance
Meeting at LAX

Boarding pass in hand, she stood in the security check-in line at Los Angeles International Airport, anxious to board her flight to Sacramento. Kristin Minetti, a business partner with Target Corporation at the time, had a lot on her mind as she waited.

Since she was young, Minetti had an interest in being a teacher. Her mother was an elementary school teacher, and Minetti wanted to follow in her footsteps and become a high school history teacher. But when she arrived at California State University, Chico in 2004 to begin her undergraduate degree, she decided becoming a history teacher wasn’t for her. Minetti decided to switch her major to business.

The community she found in the Chico State College of Business was wonderful. She decided she did want to teach, but only if she could teach at the college level, ideally at her alma mater.

“I asked my professors what it would take to teach college-level business,” she said. “They all said the same thing: go out into the workforce and gain some solid work experience and then get my MBA.”

After graduating from Chico State, Minetti went to work for Target Corporation and started thinking about her next steps.

“I thought about pursuing my MBA at California State University, Chico, but I wanted to be more well-rounded,” she said.

So Minetti turned her eyes out of California. She had a few requirements for the school, including AACSB accreditation and schedule flexibility so she could continue to work.

This was on her mind when she stepped up to the checkpoint at LAX. She picked up a plastic bin and was about to drop her shoes in when she noticed an ad on the bottom of the bin. It was an advertisement for Washington State University’s online MBA program.

It was fate.

“I had lived in Seattle for a few months and liked it, so Washington State was already on my short-list for possible out-of-state schools,” Minetti said.

Minetti went home and dug deeper. She found out that the WSU online MBA program had great reviews and reliable tech support, which helped assuage her fears of online classes. Enrollment was also a breeze, she said, and despite being online, she joined another great community.

“There is a great community feel, even in the online program,” she said. “You get a high quality education and a great experience.”

Minetti graduated with her MBA in 2015 after two years of hard work. Mere months later, she landed her dream job at Chico State. Now, Minetti is a business instructor and every day gets to experience the joy of working with students.

“I still can’t believe this is my life,” she said.

Minetti teaches sophomores through seniors and mentors business students. She also acts as an ambassador for the WSU online MBA program, giving presentations and speaking to new students about her experiences at WSU. Now, thanks to the WSU online MBA program, Minetti is paying it forward as she helps students find their own way to their dreams.