How an MBA Helped Katrina Jagroop-Gomes Build Credibility at Work

Katrina Jagroop Gomes '15MBA is the chief information officer for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, a certified SCRUM master and the recipient of the Leader in Digital Government Award at the 2017 Massachusetts Excellence in Technology conference. But those successes weren’t always guaranteed.

Jagroop-Gomes dropped out of school when she was 23 to focus on her responsibilities as a single mother to her daughter.

“I had to drop out of school to be mom and take care of my daughter,” she said. “Being a single mom in the workforce and not having the credentials behind you, it can close a lot of doors.”

The realities of the modern workplace soon convinced her she needed to finish her education and she was able to earn her bachelor’s degree in management.

Jagroop-Gomes eventually earned her BS in Management – but she wasn’t done.

As her career advanced, Jagroop-Gomes said earning her Master of Business Administration, which she earned at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) in 2015, has increased her “credibility factor,” in her role as the chief information officer at the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

“I need to substantiate the things I’m doing at an executive level, and having the master’s behind me, it just gives you that extra oomph behind what you’re saying,” she said.

Now Jagroop-Gomes has more than 20 years of experience in the public and private sectors with expertise in operations, finance, compliance and technology. She’s worked at places like Suffolk University and the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs to create business strategies, reorganize IT divisions and built and maintained high-performance IT teams. Her MBA, she said, helped her communicate at the highest levels.

“I see myself taking my company to the next level,” she said.

Jagroop-Gomes said her experience at SNHU also filled her with a sense of accomplishment.

“I feel motivated. I feel like I can conquer anything, and all the while I was still able to be a part of my family’s life,” she said.

Joe Cote is a writer and organic marketer at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), where he has worked since 2016. Previously he spent more than a dozen years as a reporter and editor at weekly and daily newspapers in Vermont and New Hampshire. He lives near SNHU's Manchester, New Hampshire campus with his wife and daughter. Connect with him on LinkedIn.