Congrats, Grad!
It’s graduation season – an exciting time for students and families alike to celebrate the accomplishments of one life chapter and the start of a new one. In addition to celebrating this milestone for our Clients and their loved ones, we are also celebrating the graduation of one of our Yeske Buie team members, Lauren Mireles. Lauren is the Organization and Methods Manager in our Virginia office and she recently completed her Master’s Degree in Organization Development and Knowledge Management from George Mason University.
The Master’s Program lasted 22 months and was cohort style, which meant that Lauren had the opportunity to learn from and build relationships with the same talented group of individuals throughout the entire program. The curriculum included a deep dive into topics like group dynamics, organizational theory, learning organizations, collaborative technologies, leadership and social justice and more. She also worked on two capstone courses – Learning Community and Organization Development Practices – that gave her the opportunity to practice the skills learned in the other courses. Lauren shared the following sentiment about her master’s degree journey after her graduation:
This program transformed the way I view myself, the way I interact with my team mates, and the way I approach my day-to-day work at Yeske Buie. I have a new awareness for the biases, assumptions, and impact I bring to a group and I have learned to be mindful of these attitudes so that I can truly embody Yeske Buie’s value to Be Big when working with our team. I also have a deeper appreciation for the complicated nature of organizations, leadership, and what it takes to be an organization that is always adaptable and learning – just like we strive to be at Yeske Buie! It’s been an intense journey, but it is one that I will be forever grateful to have experienced – I’ve already been applying my learnings with our team at Yeske Buie, and I look forward to continuing to do so.
We hope you join us in congratulating Lauren on her accomplishment and enjoy the photos below from her graduation ceremony.
 EagleBank Arena is full of anxious graduates and families! |
 VA Gov. Terry McAuliffe delivers the graduation speech. |
 Lauren walks across the stage to receive her diploma. |
 Lauren built incredible relationships with her cohort members throughout her time in the program. Here are the happy graduates! |
 Lauren’s husband, Eli, is just as excited as Lauren is that her late nights and long papers are over. |
 Lauren is all smiles following her walk across the stage. She’s pictured here with her Mom, Dad, and Brother. |
 Later that weekend, Lauren and her family celebrated her accomplishment at a local vineyard. Lauren temporarily exchanged her Live Big glass for a class that said Mastered It! |