“When I moved to Bourbonnais with my husband and two sons, God had something new for me to do,” says Liz Hehman ’19 MBA. “I had spent a lot of time in prayer and felt God was leading me to get my master’s degree. I’ll admit that I laughed at this idea at first!”
Liz had always worked alongside her husband, Eric Hehman, in campus ministry on campuses where he coached college football. From 2016 to 2023, he served as the head football coach for the Olivet Nazarene University (ONU) Tigers. She had always utilized her leadership skills in developing student leaders, but at Olivet she sensed that God was calling her to a new kind of leadership.
“When I looked at the Master of Business Administration degree program at ONU, I wasn’t sure I could excel in all the required classes,” Liz says. “I knew the areas where I needed to learn a lot more: accounting, statistics and financial management. And I knew I was going to have to ask for help to succeed in those courses. I heard God telling me, ‘You can do this,’ but I had trouble believing Him.”
Full speed ahead
Working with an Olivet advisor, Liz mapped out a two-year plan (2017 to 2019) to finish her MBA degree with a concentration in Strategic Leadership. The program was all remote, which worked well for her busy life, her husband’s demanding schedule, her children’s activities and several part-time jobs.
Looking back, Liz sees how God used this program to prepare her for what was coming next with the COVID-19 pandemic and post-COVID business world. “Pursuing an advanced degree is different from undergraduate education,” she says. “Having the flexibility and convenience of online education makes earning an advanced degree more realistic for many people. I also learned a lot from the practical, real-world business experiences of my professors and members of my cohort.”
One of the most important tools that helped Liz succeed in this program was realizing that she didn’t have to go it alone, that she could ask for help and that there were people ready to help her succeed. She learned that it’s okay to tackle something big rather than just be intimidated and never even try.
Welcoming new challenges
Today, Liz leads Highline Leadership Development Group, a company dedicated to creating leaders worth following. As the founder and lead consultant, she provides customized virtual training for leaders employed by national retail chains, financial institutions and nonprofits in the U.S. She helps them grow in their relational intelligence to improve the effectiveness of their leadership and optimize the performance of their teams. In addition to her MBA, Liz is also a Certified Guide through GiANT Worldwide, a global leader development company focused on creating organizations everyone wants to work for.
“Earning my MBA gave me new confidence,” Liz says. “I set a goal, took on a challenge and succeeded. This gives me momentum to take on the next challenge. Every once in a while during a meeting with a client, I have a moment when I can’t believe I actually get to do what I’m doing.” 
Liz adds, “Technology will never replace people. Technology allowed me to earn this degree, and technology makes it possible for me to serve clients and provide training across the U.S. on a daily basis. While technology is amazing, people are still the activators for everything that is happening. We need to continue to invest in and develop interpersonal relationships. They aren’t going away. Technology doesn’t have integrity and moral values. We can leverage technology to improve interpersonal relationships and help people thrive.”
Learn more about ONU’s graduate degree programs at olivet.edu/academics/graduate-programs. For more information or to enroll, email onlineadmissions@olivet.edu or call 877-465-4838.
