Meet Michael Dey, MBA '20

When did you graduate?

December 2020

What is your current job title?

President/Owner

What is your current company?

American Spray Technologies

Why did you select Rice Business for your MBA?

Growing up in Houston, Rice was always an aspirational school. Undergraduate studies took me out of Texas, and then my career took me to Seattle. When I was investigating MBA options I focused on hybrid programs that could expose me to other industries beyond the tech and aerospace crowd in Seattle. I planned to attend school while continuing to work in Seattle full time, and I wasn't aware that Rice could be an option, but then stumbled upon the recently-launched MBA@Rice. Rice quickly became my top choice, and after being accepted it was an easy decision based on the Rice reputation, business education philosophy and small class sizes.

How has Rice helped your career to date?

I was motivated to get an MBA to advance my corporate career by adding business tools and knowledge to my engineering background. From my first classes at Rice onward I immediately started seeing results in my work and gaining confidence with a new set of skills. Ultimately, my Rice experience exposed me to the concept of entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA) which inspired me to pivot from my corporate career into business ownership.

What was the most surprising part of your Rice MBA experience?

I was pleasantly surprised how well I was able to quickly connect to my cohort and develop relationships when attending classes virtually. The on-campus intensives further cemented those connections.

What was your favorite thing about your MBA experience?

My favorite thing about the MBA experience was meeting and working with talented students from around the world in a wide variety of industries.

What advice would you like to share with prospective and current students?

I expected a high-quality environment based on the Rice reputation, but the actual experience I had with the Rice professors, instructors and courses far exceeded those expectations.

Anything else you’d like to share?

I went into Rice expecting to equip myself to climb another rung in the corporate ladder, but I left with a completely different career outlook and life-changing perspective.