A Conversation with Rion Turner, UMA Class of 2020, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration – Management

The conversation below is abridged from the podcast.

At 40, Rion Turner decided to start again. What began as a bold move from a long career abroad led him to the 天美传媒, where he discovered a new sense of direction, a passion for learning, and a career he loves.

Q: How did you find your way to UMA?
I grew up in Southern California and joined the Army right after high school, serving in Germany. When my service ended, I stayed in Germany and worked for years in hospitality and restaurants. But as I hit 40, I knew I needed a change.

My sister mentioned UMA, this 鈥渜uirky little school鈥� in Augusta, Maine, and told me how supportive it was of veterans and what she called 鈥渘on-traditional students.鈥� At first, I thought, 鈥淲hat does that mean? You鈥檙e either a student or you鈥檙e not!鈥� But once I understood, I realized that was me. So in 2015, I left Berlin and moved to Maine to start my next chapter.

Q: What was it like starting out at UMA?
Well, on my first day, someone actually mistook me for a professor 鈥� probably because of my gray hair! That gave us all a laugh. But right away, I also realized I needed to brush up on math. The Mathematics Lab became a game-changer for me. Not only did I get the support I needed, but I also discovered I was pretty good at it. Before long, I was working there as a tutor myself. The Math Lab really became my 鈥渉appy place;鈥� a community where I could give back.

Q: Were there any courses that really made an impact on you?
Two, in particular: Organizational Behavior and Capstone, both with Dean Brenda McAleer. In Capstone, our class did a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis of UMA and identified opportunities like graduate programs and student housing. A few years later, I looked around and saw those very things had become reality. That was pretty exciting to witness.

Q: How did your career unfold after UMA?
During my junior and senior years, I worked for the State of Maine in professional licensing. It was a valuable experience, but I knew it wasn鈥檛 quite my path. A relative encouraged me to apply to Bath Iron Works. At first, I thought, 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want me welding or bending metal!鈥� But I soon learned there were administrative roles too.

I applied for an estimator job and landed it. That鈥檚 where I鈥檝e been ever since. I鈥檝e been promoted a few times and am now working on cost proposals for the Navy鈥檚 DDG51 destroyer programs. It鈥檚 challenging and rewarding work.

Q: You went on to earn your MBA. What was that like?
Yes, I graduated from UMA in 2020, right during COVID, and thought, 鈥淲hy not keep going?鈥� I applied to the MBA program at the University of Maine in Orono. Most of it was online, so I could work full-time. It took me four years instead of two, but I finished in 2024.

What I found was that my UMA education prepared me really well. I could 鈥渉ang with the best of them.鈥� It wasn鈥檛 easy, but I was ready for it, and Bath Iron Works even supported me financially.

Q: What advice would you give current or future UMA students?

Choose practical education. What I learned at UMA is useful in my daily job, even now.

Master Excel. I use it everyday in my job.

Be willing to change. A boss once told me, 鈥淵ou either love it, you change it, or you leave it.鈥� I couldn鈥檛 change my life in Berlin, so I left it; and that choice led me here. Today, I can honestly say I love my life.