A Mother-Daughter MBA Journey feat. Misty Fehler ’24 & Alexis Weaver ’24

[00:00]Maya: Welcome to Owl Have You Know, a podcast from Rice Business. This episode is part of our Pivot Series, where guests share stories of transformation in their lives and careers.

On today's episode of Owl Have You Know, we have two very special guests, Misty Fehler and Alexis Weaver, Professional MBAs of the Class of 2024. Welcome, Alexis and Misty.

[00:23]Misty: Hi, thank you.

[00:25]Alexis: Thank you.

[00:25]Maya: So, I don't know if this has happened before. It probably has in Rice's five decades long business school history, because 50 years, but for me, this is a first. I get to interview a mother and a daughter who decided to pursue their MBAs together. You know, I'm assuming you two are close. Is that an accurate assumption?

[00:54]Misty: Yes.

[00:55]Alexis: Yes, that would be accurate.

[00:57]Maya: Okay. So, tell me how you decided to, first of all, you both have really phenomenal and interesting backgrounds. And not only did you decide to pursue this goal together, but you're also in business together. And there's so much to get through and I have so many questions. And I'm going to leave some of the best ones to the very end. But tell me your story. Let's start with you, Alexis. So, you did not start off in entrepreneurship.

[01:25]Alexis: No, I did not. I actually did my undergraduate degree in political science, and then I actually have another master's degree in public administration. And so I, kind of, built this whole career and mindset around, “I'm going to go into public service, and I'm going to start at the bottom, work my way up through government, do something big,” and, kind of, very quickly realized a career bureaucrat isn't for me.

And so, I, kind of, started looking for other opportunities of, what could I do? And so, we lived really close to Rice. And I was like, “Maybe, going back to school is another idea.” And so, MBA came across the table for me. And I originally started looking into it before we actually applied. But I was going to have a baby in October, and so, I, kind of, thought probably not a good time to start an MBA, have a baby a few months later. And so, put it on the back burner, but it was always on my mind.

And so, it was the next year that my mom actually started looking into it more, doing some class visits, and invited me, like, “Hey, I know you were thinking about it. I know you do have the baby now, but come join me and just see what you think.” So, I did. And I was like, “Okay, I know it's going to be hard because I have a baby, but…”

[02:29]Maya: Well, yeah, sounds like you're really an underachiever. “Let's have a full-time job. Let's have a baby. Let's go get my MBA.” And, you know, I mean, that's pretty remarkable. I actually had a baby when I was getting my master's in public policy. My baby is now sixteen. But I had a very similar path. And to be honest with you, I think that, you know, if you can accomplish that, you really can accomplish anything.

So, Misty, tell me about your background. You've had a phenomenal career and very different industries. So, you started out in oil and gas, and then you were a nurse, and now you're an entrepreneur with your daughter.

[03:13]Misty: Yeah. So, I, like you said, started in the oil and gas industry and had a good career there for a decade or more. During a volatile time in the oil and gas industry, my husband and I decided, one of us needs to get out of this industry. So, I completely started over. I had never gone to college because I got into this career and it was successful, and I just never thought I was going to go to college, which was really disappointing at the time.

I had Alexis when I was very young. And so, I just became a mother very young and started this career. So, I took the opportunity and decided to go the healthcare route and started as a freshman at Texas A&M.

I went through that, knew I wanted to do nursing or PA school. So, I graduated from there, did a second-degree BSN at the University of Houston. It was an accelerated program, so I was able to do both of my undergrad degrees in a total of four years, which was a huge blessing, and then, did my first nursing job in the med center as an OR nurse at Houston Methodist. And I loved it, but I knew, going into health care, I wanted to do something more business. So, an MBA was always in the path for me at some point.

But I wanted to do a terminal degree in nursing or health care so that I could finish well and do something high up one day. So, I applied to the nurse practitioner program at TCU. It's a doctor of nursing practice, family nurse practitioner. Started that program right away. You know, a few months after I started, I was like, “Well, we're living right here next to Rice. I should look into the MBA program, just to see what I'm going to do next.” And I'm like, “There's no way I could do these two things at the same time. That would be crazy.” And so, I looked into it, loved it, put it off. And then about six months later, I looked back into it because I started thinking, “Hey, I could graduate at the same time if I start this now and plan it just right.”

So, I started looking into it, like Alexis said, did it. I signed up for a class visit. And I knew she wanted to do it as well. And so, I said, “Hey, you should come with me.” And she's like, “Okay,” kind of, thinking, “I don't know if the timing is right.” And we went and completely fell in love with everything to do with Rice. And it was more than we had expected, so we were super excited, debated on, “Is this a possibility? Can I actually do these two degrees at the same time?” And I just jumped out there and said, “I'm going to apply.” And so, we did.

And a funny story about our acceptance, if you want to hear that at this point.

[05:47]Maya: Yes, I do. I do want to hear this.

[05:50]Misty: Okay, we were in the car. It was me, Alexis, my mom, my sister, and my niece, and we were leaving to go shopping. And I got the call from Rice, and I saw my phone, it said, “Rice.” And I was like, “They're calling to either tell me I'm in or I'm not.” And so, I'm like, “Everyone, be quiet,” you know. I answered the phone, and it was Steve, Steve Summers. And he congratulated me. And he said, they offered me an invitation to join the class of 2024 in the MBA, Professional MBA program.

And I was so excited. I'm like, “Yay,” hung up. And we're all sitting there, like, we didn't even have a chance to think. But we did have quick thoughts of, hopefully, Alexis is going to get a call.

[06:34]Maya: That’s a little awkward, right?

[06:36]Misty: Yeah. It was because, like, I want to be really excited right now, but I'm really hoping that you still get the same call. And it was, like, five or ten seconds, and her phone started ringing.

[06:47]Maya: Was it Steve?

[06:48]Misty: It was Steve.

[06:48]Alexis: It was Steve.

[06:49]Maya: So, Steve, so, my daughter, so do you have anything to say to her?

[06:55]Misty: So, we were all, like, oh, he doesn't know we're all in the same car. It was just funny. But I told him about it later because we were just so excited. So, it was a great day.

[07:04]Alexis: We were thankful. They called us back-to-back.

[07:06]Maya: That was a day to celebrate. So, you had mentioned that, when you got there, when you got to Rice Business, for that tour, that you were just blown away. What was it? What was it that made you know that that was the right place?

[07:19]Misty: You know, the biggest thing that stood out to Alexis and I both, because we discussed this later, was the people and how they were humble, which we were very surprised, because we thought, this is Rice University, this is business school. Like, these people have it all going for them. They're very successful. And we were so pleasantly surprised to see the humility that people carried. And that was so appealing to us. And mixing that with professionalism is just a great combination. The classrooms, everything was so nice. The campus is beautiful, and it was just amazing for us.

[07:53]Maya: Wonderful. So, you said that you were nursing. Were you in nursing back when it was the time of COVID? Is that when you started?

[08:03]Misty: Yes, I was actually in nursing school when COVID hit. I did an 11-month accelerated program that started January of 2020. And so, in March, I was only three months in, and we were on spring break, and that's when all of this happened. And so, it just completely turned everything upside down with my nursing school. But it was, turned out to be really nice because everything shifted and I was able to still… I actually got paid to do my clinicals because they offered a job at Houston Methodist working as a PCA to help out the nurses because they were afraid our clinicals were going to get canceled. So, yeah, I graduated in December of 2020. And it was a crazy time to be in nursing school.

[08:46]Maya: When your mom said, “I know this is something that you were thinking about doing,” and how old was your… a baby girl?

[08:54]Alexis: It was a baby boy.

[08:55]Maya: A baby boy. What's his name?

[08:57]Alexis: His name is Judah.

[08:58]Maya: Oh, love that. So, how old was Judah when you decided to do this?

[09:04]Alexis: So, he was four months when we did the class visit. And so, he was nine months when I started. And so, it was, kind of, crazy. I was still nursing and dealing with the whole being away from him for the first time, because I would have to leave him at home for the whole weekend. And so, it was a really good but big adjustment for both of us.

[09:22]Maya: Yes. Well, usually, when you go back to school and you have a baby, it's usually your mom that you lean on to take care of your baby.

[09:33]Alexis: Yes, everybody would always ask that. They're like, “Your mom's here, so who's your baby with?”

[09:38]Maya: Well, I do have a husband, right? Like, there's…

[09:41]Alexis: Yes, and that's what I would usually say, is, well, it was the combo of my husband and then her mom, so my grandma.

[09:48]Maya: Oh, yes. And it's so great to have multiple generations that are so actively involved. And you all are so tight-knit. It's such a, such a wonderful opportunity to have that kind of familial support on both sides when you really decide that you're going to go after this, you know, you're going to do this.

So, tell me about the catalyst for your business. So, with the backgrounds that you have, macarons wouldn't be the first thing that would pop into my mind for entrepreneurship, but you launched La Mer Macaron recently, a year ago. Tell me how that came to fruition.

[10:28]Misty: Actually, Alexis and I knew we wanted to do something together. Like, we wanted to start a business together. And we, kind of, knew that we were going to do something, we just weren't sure what. So, we were on a little vacation, actually, in what we call a fishing house. And we love to go there as a family, and the guys fish and the girls stay inside, and we just hang out.

And so, we were there, and we were just discussing this stuff. And Alexis said, “I know we're going to do business together.” So, she just started looking into businesses that were for sale, like, maybe we could buy a business.

[11:00]Maya: Business acquisition. That's one of the classes at Rice.

[11:03]Misty: Yeah. So, she found a business that seemed reasonable, and it was someone selling a little macaron shop. And so, we thought, “Well, let's look into this.” So, we contacted them, and we started getting interested. We were interested in that because we had taken a trip to France the year before, and we love France. We love French pastries. We love everything. And I personally have made crepes forever for years and years and years, and we just love all French things.

So, we were like, “This would be really fun. This would be different.” And our family, we all like to cook things like that. And so, we thought, “This could be an experience.” We had no idea what we were getting into at the time. When we started looking into it, we realized, “This is actually something we would enjoy doing.” So, that business acquisition did not work out, and we're thankful that it didn't because we were able to do our own thing.

[11:56]Alexis: After that fell through, we, kind of, started up. We got an LLC, kind of, started going through the very beginning steps of what would this look like to start our own business. And when we started the MBA, we, kind of, just put it on the back burner because class completely hit us like a train. But then we were on the entrepreneurship trek with Rice Alliance. And it was there that we found out about Blue Launch with Rice Alliance, the small business accelerator.

[12:20]Maya: Can you tell me about Blue Launch and what that is, for those that don't know?

[12:24]Alexis: Yeah. So, Blue Launch is a small business accelerator that is put on by Rice Alliance. And they will, kind of, give you a bit of a stipend to help… you can do what you want with it, but it's supposed to be to, kind of, help fund your business a little bit. And they'll give you mentors and resources, and you go to classes. And they just really help push you to take your business to the next step, no matter which level it's at. It's just meant to get you to the next level.

And so, after talking with them about, would this be a good fit for us, we decided to apply. And that's, kind of, where it really took off of, like, okay, this has, kind of, been an idea up until now. We had been experimenting with trying to scale the macaron-making process, but we hadn't actually sold anything to anybody. We had just, kind of, done it with friends and family of, like, “Hey, try this. What do you think?”

And so, it was last summer — so, in between our first and second year — that we did the small business accelerator and actually launched it and began to sell things and went live online and, kind of, started making decisions on, what is this going to be?

[13:24]Maya: Are you thinking about making it a brick-and-mortar? Or, are you thinking more just delivery and online?

[13:31]Alexis: That's been, kind of, a big debate. And I think we originally wanted to, we would have gone more brick-and-mortar, to begin with, but, kind of, in business school and learning just that's a huge overhead cost, and does that make sense for us right now? We really wanted to lean into the online part and then maybe do a brick-and-mortar when it, maybe, makes sense. And mom, you might have more thoughts about that.

[13:53]Misty: Yeah, we really wanted to, all the things that we learned in the MBA were very helpful to apply them and just backing up to the accelerator, why that was so amazing, because everything we were learning in school, we were getting more of a specialized educational program catered just for that. So, we were learning a lot that we didn't know, which was the whole reason we wanted to do the MBA in the first place.

So, it takes all of your ideas that you have to start a business and it just, like, trashes everything, because you think that you can just go out and start a business, but it's not exactly like that if you want it to be successful. So, we started revamping, you know, okay, we've perfected making the macaron, but scaling up is incredibly hard. And we were mastering that when we started the Blue Launch program. It was very challenging, but it pushed us to actually put something into action, which is, we're so thankful for.

After Blue Launch, we, kind of, realized, maybe we want to do something more innovative and get on, you know, some sort of a cutting edge of something that's up and coming. So, we've been brainstorming a lot of ideas around that. And we were, kind of, following after the Tiff's Treats model with the delivery and not allowing tips, things like that. Like, we were trying to find our differentiating factor. Right now, we put on the back burner again so that we could, sort of, revamp and rethink.

And so, as a family, we were always thinking, what can we do different? So, we're trying to find that right now. So, that will determine whether or not we do brick-and-mortar, because we would love to do that, because I think our dream is to have this amazing kitchen where people could watch us in there baking and things like that. I just feel like that's something people enjoy. And we want that, but, you know, with the MBA skills that we have now, we have to think of costs and all these things that we…

[15:44]Maya: Finances.

[15:45]Misty: Yeah.

[15:47]Maya: I understand. I feel that, you know, what Rice does is really, it constructively, you know, when you have other people look at your business idea, because I went through Owl's E-Lab as well with an idea that I had. And I think that one of the best things about it is that you get to work collaboratively with other students and with mentors that you get matched with.

They're like, “Well, have you thought about this and this, right?” And then you're like, “I will now think about all of these things that you're telling me,” because sometimes you get tunnel vision. You need those other perspectives and those questions. And it's really to make you the strongest that you can be. And entrepreneurship is hard and a lot of businesses fail. And I think that the best thing about Rice, one of many wonderful things about Rice, is to have that collaboration and to bounce those ideas off. And there are people with different backgrounds and experiences. And, you know, I guarantee you, did you bring some of your product to class?

[16:53]Misty: We did. We have had orders from classmates. And we tried to bring them as much as we could, but it was, like, so hard during some of the hardest times. Like, when it was the best opportunity, we weren't able to do it as much as we wanted.

[17:07]Maya: How do you decide on flavors? That's always been one of my questions, because I've been in the market for macarons a time or two. And that was one of the things, in France, you look through the window and it's so many beautiful vibrant colors and flavors. And then the flavors don't particularly match the colors sometimes, right? Like, you think it's orange, but it's actually, I don't know, could be pear or something. So, tell me how you decide. Because I know that you've just recently started. And first of all, how do you decide on that? And then what are some of your goals for the future?

[17:43]Misty: We did some research to find out what were the most popular because we're just getting started. So, we want to make sure everything that we make is actually going to sell. So, we didn't want to have too many specialty type flavors because we didn't want there to be anything that nobody would want. But we did want to have at least one. So, the cherry almond is the one that's, kind of, our specialty thing. And that's just because we love cherry almond as a family. So, for us, that was, like, a personal… we want that flavor for us. My husband loves maraschino cherries.

[18:15]Maya: Same!

[18:16]Misty: He piles them up on his ice cream. It's crazy. I have pictures of it. But we also like almond-flavored things and, like, amaretto type flavors. So, we just thought, let's combine this when we're looking for something unique. And we ended up really, really liking it. So, that was our specialty flavor. But the rest, we, kind of, tried to find the ones that were core. Like, we wanted a solid core to get us started. And yeah, I forgot what your second question was.

[18:43]Maya: Well, my second question was what are your plans for the future, but now I have another question. So, when you're making macarons, so, take me through the process, because I'm curious. They definitely have a shelf life and they're just, like, perfection, right, when you get them and they melt in your mouth and all that. And they seem like it'd be really hard to make.

[19:03]Misty: They are very difficult to make. It's a lot of fun. So, I think that's the thing about that we like so much is that there's a challenge. And some of us are super challenge-driven and then some of us are, you know, structure-driven. All of our personalities mix in. And so, we work really well together, by the way.

[19:24]Maya: So, it's your whole family?

[19:25]Misty: Yeah, most of the bakers would be me and Alexis, my husband, Nathan, and Alexis's husband, Zach, which the four of us did Blue Launch together, which was really nice to bring our husbands to campus and see all of that. And then my niece, Gabrielle. Everyone else, kind of, helps on the outskirts. I have two younger sons and they help. But it's mostly just the four or five of us, the core team. So, Alexis, his husband is an engineer and we bought some commercial ovens that had to be reset and all of these things. And he's been very involved in, like, getting this cooking timing with the temperatures all perfect. We all have our strong points and gifts there. Very much an art and a science mixed together.

[20:08]Maya: So, let's go back to Rice for a little bit. When you first started, did people know that you were a mother and daughter or… because you have different names and, obviously, you know, you do look… I mean, when you're looking at both of you, yes, you can absolutely see that you're related, but, you know, if you're walking down the hall and you see, you know, what was that experience like?

[20:30]Alexis: So, we, kind of, tried to always lead with that, just because of how close we were, and she would, like, maybe get on to me a little bit in the way a mother does a daughter. And so, she would, kind of, be like, “She's my daughter, that's why I'm talking to her that way.”

So, the first week of the program, we're there every single day. And so, it was in one of those classes that we were, kind of, doing, like, everybody introduce yourself and tell us something about yourself. And my mom was first, and she was like, “Just so everybody knows, my fun fact is my daughter is actually sitting right there.”

[20:57]Maya: Did y'all sit together a lot? Did you sit together in class?

[20:59]Alexis: Well, not in the first week because they assigned our seats, but then when we got to choose our own seat, we did always end up sitting together.

[21:06]Maya: Misty, did you tell Alexis to do her homework? I'm just kidding.

[21:11]Alexis: If anything, it might have been the other way around sometimes.

[21:15]Misty: Absolutely. She's definitely a better student than I am.

[21:18]Alexis: Well, just with her being so busy, like, she would have everything in her calendar, but with two programs of, like, “Don't forget Rice. Like, I know you're dealing with all your other stuff. Like, don't forget we have this, too.”

[21:28]Misty: And I don't know if Alexis told you or if you knew this, but she had another baby while we were in this program.

[21:35]Maya: Well, I know this is, this is… okay. You are, like, the busiest human being ever. So, then, your first year, tell me what happened.

[21:45]Alexis: I was not expecting to have a baby during the MBA program. I knew I wanted to have more children. I wanted them to be close in age and everything, but I was actually recruiting for investment banking. So, like, in that first semester, I was so focused on, “That's what I'm doing.” And I was trying to get an internship. And, like, my whole life was, kind of, just consumed with that. And so, it was in the middle of recruitment that I found out I was pregnant. I was like, “Oh, wow, I did not.”

[22:10]Maya: Surprise!

[22:12]Alexis: Yeah. And so, that's, kind of, where we also pivoted to maybe we should do Blue Launch because my summer opened up. I wasn't going to do investment banking anymore. And so, best decision ever.

[22:23]Maya: I was going to ask, are you happy that that was a decision that no coincidences in life sort of thing?

[22:29]Alexis: Yes. And I remember, at one point during the summer, it was like 2:00 a. m. and we were up with the baby, my husband and I. And I remember just telling him, like, it's crazy. I could be doing an Ivy internship right now, but instead we're up with the baby and we've launched a business. Like, not what we expected to do in life.

[22:45]Maya: For sure. So, the programs, at the end, and, you know, in terms of scaling and plans for the future, what are you both planning on doing? And so, wait, wait, you had the second baby. Girl or a boy?

[22:58]Alexis: Oh, yes, this one was a girl.

[22:59]Maya: A girl. And what's her name?

[23:01]Alexis: Her name is Lily.

[23:02]Maya: Lily. Okay.

[23:03]Alexis: I'm also pregnant with the third one already, so that's also, like, a whole nother.

[23:08]Maya: Wait a second, when is baby number three due?

[23:10]Alexis: Maybe number three is due in November. So, we will have three that are very close.

[23:16]Maya: That are going to love macarons.

[23:19]Alexis: Yes. My first already loves them. As soon as he saw the kitchen aid come out, he is like, “I'll end up there, I want some of that.”

[23:27]Maya: Wow. So, you're due in November. And so, you definitely have a lot more on your plate. So, what are your plans for the future of your business?

[23:39]Alexis: I don't know. I mean, like she said, we're always looking for what the new innovative thing is. I think we all don't want to get too caught into just being a small business. We'd like to find a way to make it more innovative, as my mom was saying. And so, hopefully, we can take everything we've learned. We have more time.

[23:57]Maya: I don’t know if you're going to have more time. You're not going to have any time.

[24:01]Alexis: Yeah, more time until November.

[24:04]Maya: Yes.

[24:05]Misty: Yeah, I don't know what I'm going to do because I just started my eighth year of consecutive school in January. So, like, I am thinking I graduated with two degrees now. And now, what am I going to do?

[24:17]Maya: And you're the person that never thought you were going to go to college.

[24:20]Misty: Right. And so, it's crazy that, all this time and now we're just, like, oh, we can take a little break, a little breather, figure some things out and really see what stands out, because I have a lot of plans that I'd like to do. And I realized how much I am just an entrepreneur at heart because I really want to open some of my own clinics. And we're interested in med spa stuff, which was an original reason I, kind of, wanted the MBA with the healthcare, doing something administrative in a hospital. I love operations, I found out. And so, I had no idea I liked operations until I took those classes. And wow.

So, I'm like, what can I do? How can I blend all of this together? And there is a way, at some point, we're thinking we'll have a med spa next to a macaron shop next to a…

[25:11]Maya: Well, you're a serial entrepreneur. You're the perfect definition of a serial entrepreneur. And I think both of you are, based on the fact that you have both done so many things that have led up to this MBA. And the best part is that you're not scared to try new things.

[25:32]Misty: It's exciting. I did have another small business years ago. I'm never happy just working, like, one kind of job or one industry. So, in my oil and gas career, my husband and I opened a little boutique that was… it had a Merle Norman Cosmetics in there and a little boutique with jewelry, purses, and stuff.

And that was a lot of fun, but then I'm like, okay, time to move on from that. And so, who knows what our future holds? We'll have some combo of all of those things. Because we also have, like, a coffee shop idea. So, how can we blend it?

[26:03]Maya: So, La Mer Macaron, you can go online and you can order these delights to either delight yourself or as a gift for others. And I was. I was on the website last night and I was showing my 12-year-old. And she's like, “Oh, my gosh, those look amazing. Can we order some now?” So, she was, she was super excited. And I was like, “So, I just want you to know that it's a mother and a daughter that went to school together. Would you want to go with me to do that sometime?” And she says, “Well, I'd make better grades than you.” And I was like, “No doubts. You would absolutely make much better grades than me.”

That would be such a unique and special experience to be abl e to do that with your mom and to grow in that way with your mom and to have that experience with your mom. And I know that Rice is thrilled to have that opportunity as well, to have a mother-daughter team. What a wonderful, you know, example of what the Rice Business program is about.

[27:05]Misty: It's been really special for us. We are really close because I did have her when I was so young. And so, I was 16 when she was born. So young. It's been a huge success story for me, because being a teenage mother, there's a lot of odds against you, first of all. And a lot of people don't think you're going to be successful. And so, the biggest thing that's the success for me is seeing my children go through college and then them being successful. So, I feel like Alexis is a huge success story for me. I always said, you know, when she was born that I always say she saved my life, because I just wasn't going in a good direction when I got pregnant with her. Obviously, it wasn't planned. And so, she's always been my blessing. And so, we've always been really close.

It's a huge honor to be able to do this program with her by my side. And she's… I love how much she brings to it. We're completely different personalities. So, that helps. It's also frustrating, at times, when we're working on projects together, but we make a really good team. And I feel like we've learned a lot through this program, specifically.

[28:15]Maya: Well, and three babies, you know, that are also maybe future Owls. You never know.

[28:22]Alexis: Yeah, I would love that.

[28:24]Misty: And my mom has been amazing through this process. Like, she is Alexis's nanny, basically. And I'm so thankful because I can't do that.

[28:33]Maya: The people that decide to take this risk and go to Rice and to pursue this other degree, you have to really dive in. And once you're in, you know, you're not doing this alone. You have so many people and so much support. You know, your family, your friends, your mentors, you know, are really there as the scaffolding for you, to be able to pursue these dreams. And I think that it's so just heartwarming that your mom, your grandma, great grandma, is that right? Like, multiple generations that really offered that remarkable support to your whole family. And that shows when your kiddos get a little bit older and you tell them this story, which is such a beautiful story, that shows them how strong-knit of a family you are and that they really can pursue anything they want. And there are really no obstacles unless you create them.

[29:33]Misty: Exactly, yes. And Rice is just such an amazing school. I think a really nice thing for Alexis and I is that we both have been to, well, so she did her first undergrad at TCU, which I'm, you know, just did the nurse practitioner at TCU. So, we went to three schools that are the same, Texas A&M, TCU, and Rice. And I also did University of Houston. But out of them all, Rice has been, by far, the best experience that we've both had in any of our degree programs.

So, I was just telling my husband the other day, I'm like, you know, I love TCU and I'm not at all saying anything negative about them, but just comparing the two side by side, doing the program side by side, I had such a closer connection with Rice than I did with TCU because it was in person and the people and the close-knit community and, like you're saying, the support system that's there. And it just has been an amazing experience for us. Like, our expectations have been exceeded, I don't know, 1,000-fold. It just seems like we could not have expected to get all of this out of the MBA. So, we're super thankful.

[30:43]Maya: Well, I feel the same way. The feeling is mutual. Alexis, if you were going to describe your mom in three ways, how would you describe her?

[30:57]Alexis: I would say, for sure, she perseveres. Kind of, as she was saying, having me so young, a lot of obstacles, just barriers, to just having a great career and moving along, going to college, she perseveres through it all. And it, kind of, goes with the second thing. When she makes her mind up, she goes all in.

And so, we, kind of, tease her about this, whenever I was growing up, she decided, like, “I think we want to get some chickens.” Well, she didn't just get, like, one chick. She got a whole bunch of chicks, and my dad had to build a whole coop. She wanted to start planting, so she created…our whole backyard was a garden. So, when she goes in, she goes all in. She doesn't just get one degree, she's now doing three. And so, she perseveres through hard things. She goes all in into everything.

And then I would just say she's a really great support and mentor to not just me as her daughter, but just anybody. She's very motherly. I feel like she's a mentor to some people, even in our program, has, kind of, taken some of them under her wing and, kind of, leads and guides them on, like, what advice do you need? And she's just a really great sounding board.

[31:55]Misty: Yeah, Alexis, honestly, she's a very strong support system for me. Even though she's my daughter, she's definitely, like, through this program, has been my little planner. Like, she keeps the calendar. She keeps us on track with assignments and all of that. And it's been really nice, but just a huge encourager and motivator.

Honestly, I don't know if anyone else, maybe my mom is like a close tie with Alexis and my support system, but she has encouraged me to take so many of these steps. You know, applying to Texas A&M, never gone to college. She already was in college when I applied. So, she encouraged me to take that step. And so, she's been a big person to, like, push me in the direction that she knows. And I feel like I can trust her. Like, I trust her advice. She has good motives for me. And so, she's also… she is who she is. And I love that about her, because she doesn't let anything stop her. So, she's saying, you know, I go all out, but she's very strong and, like, stands strong through things. So, you know, she's like a strong tree that the tornado can't blow over. And so, I know she's already successful, but who knows what she's going to do in the world?

[33:06]Maya: Well, who knows what both of you… well, we know a little bit about what both of you have been doing, thus far, but I will tell you we are so looking forward to see what is in store next.

[33:18]Misty: Yes.

[33:19]Alexis: Yes, that's true.

[33:20]Maya: It's been such a pleasure to talk to both of you, and we wanted to thank you so much for taking time to share your story with us on Owl Have You Know. And, like I said, stay tuned.

[33:31]Outro: Thanks for listening. This has been Owl Have You Know, a production of Rice Business. You can find more information about our guests, hosts, and announcements on our website, business.rice.edu. Please subscribe and leave a rating wherever you find your favorite podcasts. We'd love to hear what you think. The hosts of Owl Have You Know are myself, Maya Pomroy, and Scott Gale.