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Online MBA Student Kristina Cabañez Balances Multiple Roles as Doctor, Entrepreneur, Spouse and Mother

With a white coat and a business plan, University of Louisville Regulatory Affairs Specialist for the Clinical Trials Unit, owner of Squeegee Squad Louisville-Frankfort and Online MBA student Kristina Cabañez-Winner proves daily that compassion and ambition can thrive in the same heartbeat. The healer and entrepreneur believes in challenging herself not just to be good enough–but to lead. Cabañez-Winner recently shared with us the strength she draws from her Filipino roots, how the challenges of entreprenurship help her thrive and how she finds purpose in each trade-off she makes as a mother, student and professional.

College of Business: Please share more about your background and what life was like for you growing up.

Kristina Cabañez-Winner: I was born and raised in the Philippines–proud Filipino through and through! I grew up surrounded by an incredible family with a lot of support and love. Culturally, Filipinos are very closeknit and family-oriented. I was very fortunate to grow up in a culture that practices good work ethic, values education, respects elders and our superiors and works very hard. Anytime I run into someone who works with a Filipino or an entire Filipino community, they have nothing but wonderful things to say about their commitment to work, sense of humor, love for food (obviously) and life and that they are just happy people overall.

College of Business: How did you first develop an interest in healthcare, and why did that lead you to earn your MD?

Kristina Cabañez-Winner: The running joke is that my siblings and I only had two career options–to either be a lawyer or doctor. It was instilled in us at a very young age that we needed to pursue a profession that was rewarding but also provided financial stability, and medicine became an easy choice. On top of that, our family was very involved in helping pediatric cancer patients. My sister and I would spend our birthdays at pediatric cancer units at different hospitals, so there is definitely an altruistic element that comes into play when you make a commitment to earning your MD. My brother is a practicing physician in the Philippines and I have looked up to him from day one. Seeing how he carries himself as a professional, truly cares for his patients and how brilliant he is, made me eager to follow in his footsteps.

College of Business: What motivated you to earn your MBA, and why did you feel the University of Louisville’s Online MBA was the best option for you?

Kristina Cabañez-Winner: I work for the Clinical Trials Unit at UofL and our director completed the in-person MBA program years ago. She had wonderful things to say about it and being that I admire her and her accomplishments, I decided to look deeper into the curriculum and how it could help me grow as a professional. I drew even more excitement from the fact that it is a 20-month program, 100% asynchronous, provides options for online electives that aligns with my interests, and has a 10-day international study trip baked into our curriculum.  To cap it off, UofL’s OMBA program was ranked #42 in Best Online MBA Programs and #29 in Best Online MBA Programs for Veterans.

College of Business: What strategies have you developed to balance your multiple professional and personal responsibilities along with being an OMBA student?

Kristina Cabañez-Winner: If anyone knows the answer to “balancing it all”, I would love to be the first to know. I don’t believe in balance, but I do believe my life is built around a series of trade-offs. If I am working on my MBA assignments in the evenings on the weekends, that means I am spending less time with my daughter and husband. When I go about completing responsibilities related to my full-time job, I have to set aside matters related to business for a later time. The truth of the matter is, I never feel like I am actually working. My baseline is having multiple things happening at once without really sacrificing quality. I get up in the morning feeling excited, always. Even on the hard days–and I have a lot of those. But because I genuinely love everything I do, it never feels like I’m working “too hard” or “too much”.

College of Business: What led you to develop an interest in entrepreneurship, and how did that evolve into your decision to co-own and operate Squeegee Squad Louisville?

Kristina Cabañez-Winner: I own 100% of Squeegee Squad Louisville-Frankfort, which is something I really take pride in! I will, however, point out that my husband has provided me with the biggest support throughout my journey as a business owner so far. He has shared many late nights with me trying to navigate through a lot of the kinks that come with running a business, so I have him to thank for that.

Entrepreneurship has always been a recurring theme in my life, which is funny looking back at it now. I started selling stickers and stationery to my classmates when I was nine and drew my own receipts, a gesture I thought made my business “official”. I moved on to selling homebaked oatmeal cookies when I was 12 and then ventured into starting two more businesses when I was in medical school. As much as I tried to shove my true calling to thrive in the world of business and focus solely on medicine, it just would not leave me alone.

Both of my parents are also entrepreneurs. I probably did not realize it then, but seeing how they dealt with the daily operations of their businesses allowed me to take a peek behind the curtain and passively absorb what they were showing me in a very indirect manner.

College of Business: How has your experience as a small business owner shaped your approach to learning in your MBA program?

Kristina Cabañez-Winner: My life has been a series of non-traditional routes–the fact that I was presented with an opportunity to pursue my MBA after joining the world of business was a perfect confluence of events and very “on-brand” for me.

I learn best by doing. Each class I take in the program allows me to apply what I’ve learned and better prepares me for the next move in my business.There is no better way to learn business than to get in the weeds of it, and that is probably why I had moments in my younger years when I struggled to stay interested in certain subjects, especially when I was just seated in a room trying to absorb everything. I needed to always find ways to apply these concepts where it made the most sense.

Additionally, I value credibility. When you become responsible for other people’s livelihoods as a business owner and find yourself building a reputation that not only represents your company, but who you are as an individual, your perspective on things shifts. Being part of an MBA program has solidified my “why”, “how” and “what now” as a business owner. At the end of the day, experience builds credibility, but when you pair that with investing in yourself by furthering your education (and maximizing that opportunity), you become unstoppable.

College of Business: Which individuals have provided you the greatest support while pursuing your MBA, and what has that support meant to you?

Kristina Cabañez-Winner: My husband and my daughter have undoubtedly been my biggest cheerleaders. They are witnesses to the panda eyes I get from the late nights and long hours I put into this program. I am also very fortunate to have family that support me even from a distance. My mom, who lives in the Philippines, will remind me every now and then to not just study hard but excel. I have learned to appreciate those little reminders over time, especially with me being away from most of my family. The goals I set for myself mean nothing if I do not have the support of people that genuinely want me to succeed. This same group of people are also not afraid to call me out when I need to be corrected or hit the breaks. It keeps me grounded and really gives me something to look forward to at the end of the day.

College of Business: Why would you encourage other entrepreneurs or busy professionals to consider an online program over a traditional in-person program?

Kristina Cabañez-Winner: Have you seen gas prices recently? Kidding aside, the fact that there even exists an opportunity to earn your degree online while being able to work a full-time job is such a luxury. As someone who is a mom to a toddler, works a full-time job and runs a business, the decision to pursue an online program was a no-brainer. The asynchronous learning approach coupled with a solid, supportive leadership team and professors that are experts in their respective field and walk you through the learning process have been critical in the success of students in this program. I have been able to “attend” lectures and work on my homework during my lunch break, nap times and built a schedule around my days to where I am able to maintain productivity, work on personal development and still have a life outside of it.

College of Business: Why would you advise prospective MBA students to earn their degree online at UofL?

Kristina Cabañez-Winner: In light of all the talk being shared online about how an MBA is not worth it, I cannot stress how important it is to invest in yourself. Whether that means finding opportunities to learn, engaging with individuals that can point you in the right direction, build knowledge in an industry you are passionate about or growing your own Rolodex of people that you establish genuine relationships with. UofL’s online MBA program has allowed me to do all the above.

College of Business: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

Kristina Cabañez-Winner: I am a big advocate for networking, connecting with people and building relationships with industry professionals. If you, as a reader and would like to connect, please say hello on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristina-cabanez/

About the UofL College of Business:

Founded in 1953, the UofL College of Business fosters intellectual and economic vitality in our city, region and the global business landscape. Our academic programs, research, community outreach initiatives and commitment to student success inspire lives and businesses to flourish through entrepreneurship, innovation, critical thinking, diversity and the power of people.

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