Keagan Bland started her college career at Missouri State University, but she’s finishing it at UMSL with both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees as part of the Accelerated Master’s program. (Derik Holtmann photo)

In so many ways, Keagan Bland is an ideal first College of Business Administration graduate of the new Accelerated Master’s program at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

When she decides what she wants, she goes after it with as little wasted time as possible. For example, in 2022 when Bland and her soon-to-be husband, Ryan, decided the time was right to move from Springfield, Missouri, back to the St. Louis area to be closer to family, the dynamic duo packed up and sold their house, got married and moved to the eastern side of the state all in the span of about a week.

“Apparently, we crave chaos,” she said with a laugh. “Like, that’s a thing for us.”

And when a full-time job opportunity became available with Emerson, she jumped at that opportunity, too, even though that meant a move to Minnesota a few weeks after graduation. Bland had loved working at Emerson’s St. Louis headquarters as part of a co-op while attending classes at UMSL.

That approach to life – nurtured and encouraged in her time at UMSL – is also why Bland is the lone first graduate of the Business Accelerated Master’s program. She’ll finish her BS/MS in information systems and technology this December, a semester ahead of the other UMSL Business students who joined the Accelerated Master’s program the same time she did.

“The only reason I’m the first is because I took classes in the summer and in the fall, so I did full-time grad school for two semesters,” Bland said. “I felt like I was already on a steamroller, right? I was just going and going, and I didn’t want to take a break. I was already in the mindset, so I figured I might as well just commit and get it done.”

The Accelerated Master’s program shares many similarities with the program it is replacing, UMSL’s 2+3 dual-degree program. Both were designed with the goal of helping students earn both their bachelor’s and master’s degrees in a shorter amount of time using dual-credit classes, with a rather significant tuition savings compared to a more traditional one-after-the-other approach. With the 2+3 model, students were given both degrees at the same time at the end of their program; with the Accelerated Master’s program, students earn their bachelor’s and master’s degrees separately.

“The AM program allows more graduate coursework to be completed during the bachelor’s degree while paying the undergrad tuition rate, which saves the student much more tuition money,” said Sierra Phipps, the program manager for both the Online MBA and Business Accelerated Master’s degree programs. “In addition, the student’s undergraduate status doesn’t change until they graduate from the bachelor’s degree, so it is less complicated for many students where financial aid is concerned, as far as keeping scholarships, etc.”

Bland’s UMSL origin story started early; she took some dual-credit classes through UMSL while she was at Hillsboro High School, about an hour south of St. Louis. Wanting the experience of moving away for college, she chose Missouri State University and took pre-med classes with the goal of becoming a physician’s assistant.

That first college biology class was eye-opening, though, and very tough. When she failed the class – and realized how long she would have to stay in school to become a PA – she reevaluated her career path. She had often thought back to an eighth-grade class at St. Rose of Lima in De Soto, where teacher Ron Taylor taught his students to learn HTML. That’s when Bland started considering a switch to information systems.

Not long after they moved back to the St. Louis area, Bland’s second UMSL chapter opened.

“I started up at UMSL taking classes in information systems and technology, and I’ve just loved UMSL since,” she said. “I really wish that I had started here, but I’m grateful for the journey that I had to get here. At Missouri State, I wasn’t a great student, but I came to UMSL, and I really thrived. And it’s because of the instructors.”

When Bland started at UMSL, her husband encouraged her to pursue a master’s degree, too, and she signed up for the 2+3 program. At the suggestion of her advisor, Shlynda Hudson, though, she took a look at the Accelerated Master’s program and loved the idea of earning her bachelor’s degree first, to help her find a job while finishing her master’s degree.

It’s interactions like that – along with opportunities such as attending the 2023 and 2024 Grace Hopper Celebration tech conferences in Philadelphia and Orlando – that constantly reinforced Bland’s decision to choose UMSL.

“At UMSL, I’m very connected with the professors. I’m connected with some of the faculty and staff members,” she said. “I went to the alumni social that UMSL put on for the IST program recently, and I ran into different people and was talking to different people and I thought, ‘I never would have done this at MSU because I didn’t feel connected.’”

Bland is very excited about the new opportunity at Emerson, even if moving to Minnesota meant finding deals on heavy-duty outerwear during Black Friday sales. Her first experience with Emerson helped her feel like she belonged, helping to fight off the lingering feelings of imposter syndrome.

“I loved the people and the culture,” she said. “Everyone was willing to help me on my journey. I didn’t know a whole lot when I started there, honestly, but I was welcomed with open arms and supported by everyone I worked with during those two years.”

She’ll be a business analyst with Emerson in Minnesota.

“I’ll be analyzing sales data to spot trends, improve processes and support strategic decisions across the business,” she said. “I’m excited. I like looking at data and helping guide decisions based off it. There’s a ton of truth in data, and getting to interpret it in a way that helps drive change within an organization sounds like a fantastic opportunity.”

Unlike the move from Springfield to the St. Louis area, though, Keagan and Ryan won’t be quite so rushed moving to Minnesota.

“I wouldn’t be anywhere without my support system, my grandparents and my husband, especially,” she said. “I don’t know where I would be without him. He’s driven a lot of change in myself. I probably wouldn’t have gone to Grace Hopper, probably wouldn’t have done my master’s.”