“Do you have a passport?” the text read.
Allen Fletcher was sitting in the Ferg last winter, studying for a nursing exam, when he got the text from an old supervisor. Fortunately, he did have a passport: he had received it three weeks beforehand. So before he knew it, Fletcher was in St. Maarten, a Caribbean island owned by the Netherlands, helping to fight the Coronavirus.
A 2019 alum, Fletcher entered UA on a music scholarship—he plays a mean tuba—and was initially headed for medical school. However, after shadowing a few doctors, he wanted a better work/life balance than the physician track would provide, so he switched his major to exercise science, and then went to Beville State to get his associate’s in nursing.
His graduation from nursing school coincided with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, so what followed was a whirlwind series of Covid-related gigs: administering Covid tests to UA football players; traveling to New Jersey to work on a Netflix special, and Atlanta to work a Tyler Perry set; and even going to Eugene, Oregon to ensure Covid safety for the U.S. Olympic Trials in Track and Field.
But at some point, Fletcher realized that he “didn’t want to be doing this in 20 years,” and began to think about what was next. He loved working in healthcare, but he always had business in the back of his mind. One morning, he got off a long shift and said, “I’m going to apply to MBA school.”
His rich set of experiences before Manderson have certainly colored the way he approaches the MBA program. He takes advantage of every opportunity that Manderson provides. And he’s not alone—Fletcher confessed that he was surprised about the enthusiasm all of his fellow students bring to the classroom, often jostling for front-row seats in the lecture hall.
What’s next after Manderson? Fletcher can see himself as the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. By then, he’ll be ready: Manderson MBA in the bag, and passport in hand.