A big part of what Kevin Ramirez, MBA 25, does is stand up for others. His job is to make sure that no matter what someone’s background is, they receive equitable pay.
As a pay equity consultant, he works “at the intersection of HR best practices and nonprofit work” ensuring nonprofits, healthcare organizations, and schools are paying their workers, especially women and people of color, fair and equitable wages. He chose to get an MBA through the Berkeley Haas Evening & Weekend MBA program’s Flex option, because it allows him to keep his career and family commitments in Los Angeles.
Kevin is fortunate enough to work with clients who want to live up to their values. He serves as a guide who helps give them a starting point, walking them through an equity-driven process focused on developing transparent compensation programs and building inclusive environments where employees thrive. Helping to close the pay gap between genders, races, and ethnic groups is a big part of what he does. It involves a lot of conversations about equality and social impact.
Kevin got his undergraduate degree in philosophy and legal studies from the University of California, Berkeley and he knew that at some point he wanted to go back for a graduate degree. He always felt that he would end up at Berkeley Haas even though he feared it might not be a natural fit given his background. But in a lot of ways, it is.
“In undergrad I studied humanities and social sciences, so I’m comfortable talking about equity with my clients. I think that what was missing before the MBA, besides the business skills, was the acumen of how organizations navigate talent decisions such as pay,” Kevin adds. One of the main benefits of the Flex MBA program is that Kevin can immediately apply the lessons he’s learning in his classes to his work. “Now I’m getting general business and management skills where I can coach my clients through key talent and financial decisions. I’m able to provide more of a holistic approach by addressing the people and the money side of things.”
A change of plans
After completing his undergraduate degree, he made plans to return. “I wanted to come back to Berkeley because I had a great experience during undergrad.”
Unfortunately the COVID 19 pandemic threw a wrench into his plans. His parents were both front line workers and lost their jobs during that time. Moving to the Bay Area to pursue his MBA would mean losing his income and the ability to help support his family. “My parents are still struggling, so even though I wanted to pursue my business degree, I couldn’t commit to a full time program. I still wanted to advance my career so I decided to apply for the Flex program. It came along at a really good time.”
The Flex MBA option, part of Berkeley Haas’ #1-ranked part-time MBA program, allows Kevin to continue to work full time. He is able to stay close to home and doesn’t have to worry about his family. His cohort meets online twice a week from 4-6pm Pacific time with a set group of classmates and the same tenure-track professors who teach across all Berkeley MBA programs. They also set aside time for independent work such as recorded lectures, other videos, and discussion boards. During the course of the program, students are required to come to the Berkeley campus three times for immersive events with their classmates, faculty, and staff—with the option to attend two additional networking weekends.
With some synchronous online class time being required, Kevin is grateful that his employer has been supportive. “They give me flexibility with time where they allow me to take time off to focus on academics. I just need to tell them in advance. It's still intense, but I’m able to balance my work with school.”
Because of the way his company operated during the pandemic, he didn’t have to adjust to learning online. “For my work, most of my clients are everywhere, so I’m accustomed to doing Zoom meetings and communicating on Slack. I already dealt with the discipline of learning how to operate within the digital world, so onboarding was easy for me.”
“I’m very grateful for the Flex program because it means that I can still live in Los Angeles and support my parents. That was part of my decision making process,” Kevin adds. “I toyed with the idea of moving to the Bay Area, but when I did the math it was more affordable to help out my parents instead of moving.”
Getting an MBA without a business background
With his plan to pursue a Haas MBA settled, Kevin found out that he had a lot to learn about business. Some of the courses he has had to take have been a challenge. Faculty is always there to help, but the program works to create balanced study groups with students who have a diverse range of industry experience. “When I took finance, it was like a foreign concept to me. I didn’t have the background to fundamentally understand what the professor was saying a lot of the time. What I really appreciated is that some of my classmates do finance in their day to day work. Even though I didn’t have the background, I had the support of my study group to help me when I needed it so I didn’t fall behind.”
The cohort model of the Flex option has been a positive experience for Kevin. The program is set up so that a large group of students will start together in July and work through online core classes in lock step. During the second half of the program, students begin their electives which can be taken online, in person, or a combination of both. The program will take anywhere from two and a half to three years, depending on whether a student takes summer classes or not. Kevin’s cohort will graduate in 2025.
The relationships between classmates have been mutually beneficial. “I’ve been a part of two study groups. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Whenever a subject is in someone’s wheelhouse, they are able to step in and be like, “Okay, I’ll take this on.” I really appreciate the cohort model and the study group model where you feel like you have someone’s support and you can support others.”
Balancing school, work, and life
Between his full time job, school, and caring for his parents, Kevin somehow manages to squeeze in a few things for himself. He enjoys weight lifting and doing Crossfit and schedules time for those things.
He also has a creative hobby. “I’m a writer and have been getting back into sketching. I was a sketch artist in high school. I like writing horror stories, magical realism stories, and it’s something I do to keep grounded because my work is very intense. I’ve even taken some time off of work to spend time on creative projects so I can have that break. It’s been so fun to just do that. Right now I do it for my mental health, but I do want to publish someday, before I turn 40.”
With the combination of social services and human resources that he gets in his current job, he hopes adding business skills to his toolbox will open doors for him. He is passionate about his community and hopes to do more to make a difference in peoples’ lives.
Kevin does have advice for potential students who are considering the Flex option or any other MBA program, “I’d say find three to five priorities you want to focus on during the program. For me, going in, I identified what I really wanted to get out of it. If you want to make a career pivot, use the career management resources available. If you want to network and socialize, attend the events and meet people. Don’t worry about committing to everything. If you have a full time job you could burn yourself out.”
With graduation about a year away, Kevin is already thinking ahead. “After I finish my program I am looking into getting involved in politics. I was born and raised in Los Angeles so I’m very familiar with the public institutions here. As someone who has been involved with the nonprofit and education space around LA with a business background, I want to be able to support my communities and serve the public to continue efforts in social impact in LA."
The Flex Option through the Evening & Weekend Program has been a great fit for many busy students who would have trouble making the move to the Bay Area. If you’re wanting an MBA but haven’t found a program that fits into your life, check out the Flex program today!
