Send in the clown
If you think clowns have no place in the corporate world, think again. Meet Ted Kraje '08 M.B.A., an AREVA information systems team manager, aka Teddy Spaghetti the Clown.
Ted, who honed his juggling skills during childhood, landed the White Face Clown role in a Lynchburg Fine Arts Center summer production of "Barnum" following his freshman undergraduate year and has been clowning ever since. A popular entertainer at children's birthday parties and other events, he says, "You'd be surprised at the professional benefits - every show is different so I have to think on my feet constantly; time management is a must to fit clowning into work and family schedules; public speaking is a no-brainer; and, if you think you ever had a difficult customer, children always give immediate and honest feedback. These skills have made me a better engineer and manager."
Fortunately, Ted doesn't rely entirely on his clown alter ego for career success. There's also his newly- minted Lynchburg College M.B.A. After participating in AREVA's Leadership Center program in which an M.B.A. was highly recommended, he enrolled in LC's program, saying it stood out because of its excellent reputation and long-term relationship with AREVA.
He has high praise for the program and its faculty, particularly Dr. Sally Selden, who teaches Organizational Management, and Dr. Atul Gupta, who teaches International Business and Strategy, the capstone course. "Dr. Selden is a genius in her field. Her insights on management, organizational analysis, interpreting personality styles, and overall leadership have significantly changed the way I interface with people. Not only did Dr. Gupta teach the intricacies of the stock market, his opinions during class discussions about current events were enlightening, thought-provoking, and taught me more about economics than any textbook."
Dr. Gupta says of his former student, "Ted is a representative of today's best and brightest professional minds. He is exceptionally knowledgeable about many areas of business and eager to help his peers and see them succeed."
Ted excelled in the program, earning the Outstanding Graduate Business Student Award and induction into Sigma Beta Delta National Business Honor Society. An engineer by training, he says, "There's a reason why becoming a corporate VP without an M.B.A. is so rare. With my degree, I can have an intelligent conversation with an accountant, read and understand a 10K report, and understand the value of marketing/legal/information systems and how they can affect everything I do. As a side benefit, I greatly appreciate other students' life lessons."
He especially valued the personal interaction with faculty, saying students often arrived early for class to talk informally with professors - quite different from his undergraduate experience at a large Virginia public university where he did not meet personally with a professor until his senior year.
Ted aspires to become the chief information officer of a corporation and leave a legacy of transforming information systems from a cost to an added value. He's well on his way, having recently appeared on the Blue Ridge Business Journal list of "Top 20 Under 40" professionals.
