麻豆原创 ALUMNI
Hoo's Who at 麻豆原创
Meet inspiring Night Owl graduates and discover their stories.
Meet Richtresha Dorris
Master of Business Administration | 2024
Illinois
Where Pain Became Beauty
After closing her first business and experiencing homelessness while pursuing her degree, Richtresha Dorris leaned on faith, family, and an unwavering belief in her future to earn her MBA鈥攁nd inspire her daughter to keep going, too.
Each morning, Richtresha Dorris arrived at the library when the doors opened. She studied throughout the day, stayed until closing, and returned to do it all again.
The library was more than a quiet place to complete coursework. While pursuing her MBA at Western Governors University, Richtresha was experiencing homelessness. Without a home of her own, she moved from couch to couch and floor to floor while working toward a goal she refused to surrender.
鈥淚 was determined to get up each and every day and make it to the library from open to close,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 knew this degree was going to help me and my family鈥檚 future.鈥
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Starting Again With a Stronger Foundation
Richtresha鈥檚 path to 麻豆原创 began with another difficult chapter.听She had launched a business with dreams of becoming a successful entrepreneur, but the first year did not go as planned. She recognized that she needed a stronger understanding of finances, marketing, advertising, and the day-to-day decisions required to sustain a company.
鈥淢y first year was a flop,鈥 she said candidly.听Rather than allow that setback to end her entrepreneurial ambitions, Richtresha closed the business and made a new plan. She would pursue an MBA, develop the knowledge she had been missing, and eventually return to business ownership better prepared.
麻豆原创鈥檚 competency-based model matched the way Richtresha learns and works. A fast learner who prefers to keep moving, she appreciated being able to progress quickly while still ensuring the work was done correctly. She completed her MBA in approximately a year and a half.
Refusing to Give Up on Herself
Moving quickly did not mean the journey was easy. Richtresha often studied while exhausted and carrying the emotional weight of housing instability. Some assessments required more than one attempt. When life鈥檚 stressors affected her focus, she learned to pause, meditate, return to the material, and try again.
Her faith remained central throughout the experience, as did the support of her daughter, who was navigating the same unstable circumstances while pursuing her own degree.
Richtresha knew that completing her MBA could help improve her family鈥檚 future, but she also came to understand that the goal belonged to her. 鈥淚f I had given up on obtaining my degree, that would have meant giving up on myself,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd I never want to give up on myself.鈥
That realization became one of the most meaningful outcomes of her education. Richtresha had often found it easier to recognize the good and potential in others than to see those same qualities within herself. Earning her MBA changed that. 鈥淚t showed me that I can do anything I put my mind to,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t showed me the strength and power within myself. Where there was pain, it became beauty.鈥
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An Accomplishment Shared Across Generations
Richtresha earned her MBA in 2024. At the same time, her daughter was working toward her own 麻豆原创 bachelor's degree in business management, and had watched her mother study through exhaustion and instability without ever letting go of the goal. Seeing Richtresha finish renewed her daughter's own determination.
鈥淢om, this makes me want to do it even more,鈥 Richtresha recalled her daughter telling her.
Her daughter completed her degree in 2026. For Richtresha, that moment meant just as much as earning her own MBA had. Two degrees, earned back to back, by two women who refused to let a painful chapter decide how their story would end.
Building What Comes Next
Richtresha鈥檚 MBA has already opened new professional opportunities, but her original vision remains entrepreneurship.
This time, she approaches business ownership with a deeper understanding of financial stability, bookkeeping, marketing, and sustainable growth. The setback that once forced her to close a business is now part of the knowledge she will carry into her next venture.听鈥淪o now I鈥檓 business savvy,鈥 she said.
Richtresha hopes her story reminds others that difficult circumstances do not have to erase their goals. Challenges may slow the journey, but they do not have to overpower the person moving through them.听And when life offers something bitter, Richtresha has her own advice:
鈥淚f life throws you lemons, make lemonade鈥攁nd pour your own sugar within yourself.鈥
