Title: Faculty, General Education
Highest degree and school: MBA, University of Phoenix
Teaching at SDI since: 2019
Stephanie Bates teaches Introduction to Business for SDI. A licensed Realtor in her home state of Arizona, Stephanie formerly worked for the Department of Defense as a Master Planner, where she was responsible for developing and coordinating an integrated master plan and master schedule to meet all program objectives, performing risk analysis, identifying and resolving critical path and network logic conflicts, and ensuring the projects stayed on budget and on time. Her undergraduate degree focused on the financial side of business, and she went on to earn her Masters in Business Administration. In addition to teaching for SDI, Stephanie also teaches continuing education courses to Realtors in the state of Arizona.
Having completed her MBA through an online program, Stephanie understands the unique challenges that students face in the online environment. She appreciates how the online, asynchronous environment allows students to log into the classroom when they are the most productive and provides opportunities for education to those whose schedules don’t mesh with traditional learning timeframes. When asked what she likes most about teaching for SDI, Stephanie said helping adult learners achieve their goals; “While I was completing my MBA, I had a full time job and a newborn baby. If it was not for distance education, it would have been impossible for me to complete my degree…It is my goal to use my combined education and experience to provide students with well-rounded exposure to the business world.”
When she’s not teaching or helping people find their dream homes, Stephanie enjoys watching her son, Tanner, play football and watching her youngest son, Tyler, play baseball. She says her idea of a perfect day would include a workout in the morning and then hanging out with her family. If time was not a factor, she says she would want to become fluent in another language.