M.S. in Management Student Combines Passion with Business Skills

MGMT Students with Dr. Stivender
Monday, April 8, 2019
Student Insight: Meet M.S. in Management student & entrepreneur, Micah Coleman

Micah Coleman is known as a thriving entrepreneur, constantly finding ways to master new skills and knowledge. She will be one of the accomplished students walking across the stage next month as a graduate of UNC Charlotte’s inaugural M.S. in Management cohort. 

Micah is originally from Winston Salem, NC and graduated from UNC Charlotte in May 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Bachelor of Arts in Spanish.

During Micah’s senior year of undergraduate, it was one of the most challenging, but best years of her life. She studied abroad in Santander, Spain in the fall of 2016, during a faculty-led UNC Charlotte and UNC Wilmington program. Micah spent the entire semester in Europe studying the Spanish language and culture, where she was blessed with the opportunity to live with a host mother who only spoke Spanish. This experience pushed her to learn the language and adjust to a new way of life fast. Micah exclaims, "It was one of the best experiences of my life and I highly recommend everyone to study abroad.” Micah is even now still in contact with her host mother and other friends from around the world.

While studying abroad Micah was able to travel to five different countries and create memories along the way. It was an experience of a lifetime and revealed her true passion for traveling. With Spanish being a minor before she had left to study abroad, upon returning she decided to make Spanish her second major during her last semester in undergraduate, requiring her to take 19 credits to graduate on time. During that time she had also been working two part-time jobs and was quite involved on campus as well. After completing her undergraduate degree she thought it would be in her best interest to take a gap year to relax, travel and start her career as an entrepreneur.

During her gap year, while working as an Assistant Store Manager Trainee at Walgreens, Micah pondered what her next steps would be when she came across postings about the Belk College M.S. in Management program and thought that it would be a great way to enhance her skills and aspirations to become an entrepreneur.

After applying to the M.S. in Management program and being accepted, Micah was coming to the end of her gap-year and was still looking for more ways to make the most out of it. With a hunger to make the most of her time before the program began, Micah decided to acquire her NC Manicurist License. She started school at the Academy of Nails and Esthetics in April 2018 and finished two weeks before starting the M.S. in Management program in July 2018.

Micah in the M.S. in Management classroom with fellow cohort members

Micah was working a full-time, 40-hour a week corporate job while attending nail school for 300 hours. Her schedule for two months started at 5 a.m. and ended at 10 p.m., including Saturdays, where her only day off was Sunday. While working towards her manicurist license she learned the basics and safety procedures for performing nail services on clients. After being tested on the information she was then required to perform a certain amount of services on clients to graduate the program.

When asked Micah to describe herself in one sentence, she replies with pure confidence, "I was born a boss.” When you meet Micah you instantly can sense the determination in her and the amount of effort and care she puts into her work, as well as academic life. Micah has combined her personal interests of traveling, food, childcare and her passions with human resources and business to excel is the M.S. in Management program and also continue to build a successful business.

Micah is currently working as an Annuity Specialist at AXA Equitable. She thoroughly enjoys her current job because she has coworkers she gets along great with, the work environment is very positive, and she is gaining extensive knowledge about the stock market and investing. Also along with her study abroad experience, NC Nail Technician License, and love for the beauty industry; she was able to co-found a beauty business, where last February, Micah and her best friend/business partner filed with the state of North Carolina and created their own business named I.M. Beauty LLC. Their business currently works with the Ventureprise program on the UNC Charlotte campus that assists new companies with becoming large corporations. Micah notes, “I.M. Beauty will be expanding into different avenues in 2019, so be on the lookout!”

Micah’s favorite part about the M.S. Management program and one of the main reasons she chose it is because of the flexibility and the fact that a business degree could be added to her resume in less than a year. She also loves the cohort experience because it feels like another family away from home. Micah remarks, “I definitely think the cohort experience improves the quality of the program because it ensures that you are not alone in this journey.” This could not have been better said, as classmates are constantly assisting one another with their own individual strengths and creating many memories together.

Micah is happy to have various career options — whether she goes full force as an entrepreneur or dives into the human resources field. She looks forward to what the future brings, and is confident that with the expertise obtained through the M.S. in Management degree many doors will remain open to her bright future.

Learn more about Micah Coleman and the M.S. in Management inaugural cohort
Visit I.M. Beauty on Etsy and follow them on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest)
Learn more about Entrepreneurship in the Belk College of Business

ARTICLE WRITTEN BY Christina Hewitt, M.S. in Management Ambassador, ‘19

Christina Hewitt, a student in the Belk College of Business Master of Science in Management inaugural cohort, serves as the Marketing Ambassador for her graduate program. In this role, she shares her perspective as a student of the program through her original content, manages the cohort’s Facebook and Instagram pages, builds her marketing skills, attends class and enjoys her cohort experience.​​