Cam Porter

Auburn University, Raymond J. Harbert College of Business Online MBA Program

Age: 32

Hometown: Peachtree City, Georgia

Fun fact about yourself: Growing up in an Army family and being a service member myself, I have moved 18 times.

Undergraduate School and Degree:(I earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a minor in Computer Science at Presbyterian College.

Where are you currently working? I currently work at Amazon Web Services as a Senior Account Executive in the World-Wide Public-Sector Organization. My mission is to transform the delivery of government services through adopting emerging cloud technologies.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? My proudest professional accomplishment is having the immense honor of serving in some of the most storied units in the United States Army – The 82nd Airborne Division and 10th Special Forces Group. I had the privilege to work alongside the nation’s most exceptional soldiers and leaders while upholding an unbroken family tradition of military service that spans back to World War II. Through deployments, special operations missions, airborne operations and more, I had the opportunity to test myself every day.

Why did you choose this school’s online MBA program? I have always heard about the “Auburn Family” and the MBA program’s exceptional delivery model for online students. However, what truly set Auburn apart was the unique opportunity to simultaneously pursue a Master’s of Science in Information Systems alongside an MBA. This dual technical and business curriculum was the ideal blend I was seeking to future-proof my career in our digital economy. Auburn’s program allowed me to develop technical expertise in areas like data analytics, systems designs and architectures, as well as cybersecurity. Auburn’s professors focused on developing specific skillsets to help create value, drive innovation and digital transformation strategies.

What was your favorite part of being in an online MBA program? My favorite part of being in Auburn’s online MBA program was the incredible flexibility it afforded during a period of immense personal and professional transition in my life. Over the course of the program, my wife and I welcomed a baby girl, I transitioned out of the military, pivoted into an entirely new career field, and relocated our family across the country. Auburn’s world-class faculty and support staff adapted to my circumstances every step of the way. They worked with me to customize my schedule, provide academic accommodations when needed, and ensure I stayed on track amid the chaos. I never once felt like just another number. They proactively checked on my well-being, celebrated milestones with me and made it feel that “my success was their success”.

What was the most surprising thing about an online learning environment? I think we all harbor some doubts about whether the experience can truly foster the same camaraderie and connections as a traditional classroom setting. Auburn’s MBA program was one of the pioneers in delivering an online learning environment and they continue to push the boundaries through intentional activities that foster collaboration, relationship building, and plugging into the Auburn Family’s network. Auburn went through great lengths to recreate the classic “Auburn Family” atmosphere and I formed tight bonds and enduring friendships with peers who shared in that online journey.

The most surprising thing about Auburn’s MBA Online program was their one-week Camp Harbert residency on campus. The university rolls out the red carpet for the online cohort. Typically after graduation, Auburn’s MBA faculty stays an additional week to create an exquisite experience for the students, where we had unprecedented access to the campus, sporting complexes, and got ‘indoctrinated’ into the one-and-only ‘War Eagle’ way of life. I spoke to a few undergraduates about my experience at Camp Harbert and they responded that I experienced more of Auburn University in one-week then most undergraduates experience in 4 years at the campus.

How did your online experience compare with your in-the-classroom experience as an undergraduate student? Auburn professors always made sure to include the online students into the full-time experience by extending access to in-person lectures via web conference. Auburn has invested in state-of-the-art technology to allow audio and visual of professors presenting the lecture in real time as if you were there in person. Online students can even text or ask questions in real-time if they want to participate in the discussion.

I was also keen in participating in the international programs offering where online students have the opportunity to immerse themselves for 10 days in another culture learning about international business, foreign affairs and other business principles. I had the pleasure of visiting Dublin Ireland and Belfast Northern Ireland, where the Auburn faculty once again outdid themselves. We partnered with the vast international Auburn Network. Here, a SVP at AFLAC provided a unique insight into what it is like to expand a U.S business into foreign markets leveraging local commerce programs, incubators, and other innovative ways to drive growth in other areas. We also had the opportunity to meet Belfast’s High Sheriff and other business leaders, where we learned about their future growth strategies, economic propositions, and the amazing work the city is doing to attract high-quality talent.

My peers in this trip still communicate and our group finds reasons to get together to this day just to reconnect and see how everyone is doing. Needless to say, my online experience is commensurate to my in-classroom experience.

What is your best piece of advice to an applicant for thriving in an online MBA program? The best piece of advice is to take advantage of all of the programs and resources the MBA program offers. Your experience in getting an MBA is what you put in it. I truly believe you can achieve all of your educational and professional goals simultaneously as long as you lean into the program’s offerings.

How has your online education helped you in your current job? One of the unique aspects of an online education is the ability to seamlessly apply academic principles to my professional role in real-time. I took analysis from my marketing courses and directly applied them into a go to market strategy I was building. I also took a statistics class where I applied the same functional formulas to calculate various KPIs for a project I was working on in my current job. The MBA program fundamentally transformed how I approach business strategy and decision-making holistically. I also have frameworks for assessing value creation opportunities, how to appropriately measure risk versus return, and the program equipped me with the tools to become data fluent in a digital world.

Did you earn a promotion while in the program or immediately after graduation? I changed job functions which is effectively a promotion in my current company moving from a Sales Program Manager to a Seniot Account Executive.

Why did you pursue an online MBA program instead of a full-time residential program? As stated above, my life was in a state of change and the online MBA was the appropriate delivery mechanism for me to achieve my professional and personal goals. Also, the very real opportunity cost of being out of the workforce for 18 months while having a family was another factor that the online MBA program allowed me to balance.

Number of Hours Per Week Spent on an Online MBA: 10-20 Hours depending on the course work and if it is group projects. The MBA program recommends you take 6 hours (2 classes) per semester. For a few semesters I took 9 hours while working full time which was very demanding but is doable if you need to.

What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? My professional goal is to be a leader in technology company driving long-term transformational growth strategies for government institutions.

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