Chapter 7

The Midnight MBA

1991–1994

In 1991, with three young children at home and a demanding job, Bert enrolled in the MBA program at UMass Boston.

Think about what this meant: leaving work, driving to campus, sitting in evening classes on accounting, marketing, organizational theory, strategic management—then coming home to help with homework, to be a father, to be a husband—then doing it all again the next day. For four years.

On December 29, 1994, he received his MBA from the College of Management. His cumulative GPA was 3.57.

It started at Harvard Extension in 1978, when he was a janitor who barely spoke English. It ended at UMass Boston in 1994, when he walked across a stage to receive a master's degree in business administration.

Bert in cap and gown holding his MBA diploma at UMass Boston, 1994

UMass Boston, 1994

Bert in cap and gown with his family at the MBA graduation — Maria, Laura, Anthony, Danny, and cousin Christopher, 1994

With Maria, Laura, Anthony, Danny, and cousin Chris

His aunt had sold her land so he could go to seminary. He had made it count.