Vail resident brings entrepreneurial spirit to degree
Rebecca McFarland is no stranger to entrepreneurship. She ran her own massage business for twelve years, and, on the side, worked her way up to partial ownership of a custom home building company from a receptionist position.
For McFarland, those real-world experiences sparked a love of business, but lacked one key aspect of business knowledge she yearned for: diversity.
“When I left the company,” she explains, “I was armed with knowledge of one company within one industry. I realized that I needed more all-encompassing knowledge in order to have more power over my own future.”
McFarland’s realization led her to enroll in classes at Colorado Mountain College, where she earned an Associate of Arts degree with a Business Emphasis in May 2011. Her experience at CMC reaffirmed many things she’d already learned on the ground, and, importantly, boosted her confidence.
The experience also tapped a desire for more business knowledge, leading the energy driven McFarland to apply to CMC’s new Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) program as soon as she learned about the degree. She told her professors she plans to be the first person to earn a bachelor’s degree from the Edwards campus.
“I’m excited about the knowledge that I will emerge with,” says McFarland. “I am excited to embody the confidence and power that arises from knowledge. I hope that my degree will provide the skills so that I can become a leader in business.”
And where might she take that new knowledge and degree in the future? The Vail resident is adamant that she’ll try to remain close to the mountains and the college where her roots lie.
“For me, this is home.” asserts McFarland. “As a Colorado native, there is nowhere else that I want to live. I dread the day we have to move away from the Vail Valley. For me, there is no greater place to be than the Colorado mountains. I would be (and am) proud and honored to call Colorado Mountain College my alma mater. By providing a bachelor’s degree, CMC is making it possible for my family and I to continue living and enjoying life while simultaneously working toward a successful future. “