In this new segment, Kelleys Keeping it in the Family, we celebrate generations of Kelley students in the same families. This Father’s Day, we’re featuring Jason Lynn, MBA’01, and his daughter, Melanie Raney, MBA’23, graduates of our Evening MBA Program.
When Jason Lynn, MBA’01, was enrolled in the Evening MBA Program at the Kelley School of Business Indianapolis, his daughter Melanie was a seven-year-old who saw her dad attending school in the evening after a day at work.
“She remembers me being gone at night and studying all the time, and I think that made a big impression on her,” Jason said. “She remembers me putting the time into something that was important to me.”
“I remember seeing him do homework and have calls late at night,” said Melanie Raney, MBA’23. “I think that is why earning an MBA was always in my plan – I saw him doing it and thought, ‘Oh, that’s what you’re supposed to do as a grown-up.’”
In fact, more than 20 years later, Melanie followed her father’s path to Kelley. Both engineers, Melanie is the commercial manager of Generation Resource at AES and Jason is a senior cost analyst at Dell Technologies. When her career positioned her to pursue her lifelong plan to earn an MBA, Melanie chose her father’s alma mater.
“Kelley Indianapolis is super convenient, it’s a great school with a great program, and it dawned on me that my dad did this 20 years ago,” Melanie said.
“She was living in Indianapolis, had a great job, and I thought that the Evening MBA would fit well into her life,” Jason said. “I talked about those same benefits I had experienced.”
As she worked through the program, Melanie—who is the oldest of four Lynn children—says she’s been able to reach out to her dad to discuss the program and the challenges of earning an MBA while working full time with young kids at home.
“We’ve always been close, and it’s really cool to be able to talk to him at a higher level about these subjects. My dad is very smart, he knows a lot about a lot of things, and it’s just really exciting to talk to someone who’s been through the same experience,” Melanie said. “When I’m excited and just jazzed about what I’m learning or how cool my teachers are and how they conduct discussions, he’s one of the first people I call to tell. He’s super excited for me, and he loves that I’m getting to experience something he really enjoyed.”
Jason says he’s amazed at the differences in learning today compared to the early 2000s.
“It’s so weird – classes were all in person when I was going to school. Now there are so many options to have classes online and in person. When I was about to graduate in 2000, they were just installing the first classroom with cameras and microphones. We thought that was so cool,” Jason said. “The experience she’s having is very different after 20 years, and we’ve talked quite a bit about her experience versus mine.”
Jason, who now lives in Austin, Texas, is proud of his daughter’s achievement as she prepares to graduate with her MBA.
“I’m super proud of her doing the same thing. And it sounds like she’s having a lot of success and great learning,” Jason said. “I know having this MBA is going to make a big difference in her career. I’m thrilled for her to finish up. I think she’s got great things ahead of her, and I’m so glad she is able to complete the same program.”
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