Executive MBA student Janice Dylla was born and raised in Sugar Land, Texas, a city where most of the population holds jobs in the oil and gas industry.

“Growing up I was certain that I would never work at a company whose success depended on the price of oil because I had seen so many people lose their jobs when oil prices went down,” Dylla says.

Four weeks after she graduated with a BA in mathematics from UT Austin, Dylla learned the true meaning of the phrase “never say never.” She accepted a job at Fairfield Industries, a geophysical company specializing in seismic data equipment sales and services, and has worked for them since.

Dylla was placed in the procurement department and quickly advanced into a management position and became Fairfield’s director of supply chain. She soon noticed the company’s management team was male dominated; just a handful of women in the company held leadership positions.

“I was the first woman in Fairfield’s history to have been given official authority for expenditure,” she says. “I have seen the demographics of the oil industry change as more women enter careers in STEM fields. I decided that going through this journey will allow me to be the mentor that I never had when I started out.”

She also was influenced by Fairfield’s CEO, Chuck Davison, as he encouraged her to pursue the Executive MBA program at UT.

“After visiting the Knoxville campus and sitting in on some classes, I was convinced that UT was the right choice for me,” Dylla says. “I was impressed by how welcoming the Haslam faculty and staff were. The professors in the program have prior work experience that allows them to impart practical knowledge in their lectures, and the students are encouraged to share their experiences with the class so we learn from each other as well.”

The Executive MBA program is a huge commitment, and Dylla credits her support and success to Fairfield Industries and family – her husband Kevin, her nine-year-old daughter Evelyn, and her dachshund Gus.“