23-year-old, Mikayla Raines has set an outstanding record of being the youngest graduate to earn a PhD in Business Administration at the University of North Carolina Charlotte in the United States.
Mikayla has been exceptional right from the beginning of her academic journey. She obtained her bachelor’s degree at the age of 18 and master’s degree at 19, both from Fayetteville State University, United States.
She said earning the doctorate was more than about adding “Dr.” to her name but feels empowered. She noted that many members in her cohort were female and of all backgrounds, races, and nationalities.
Mikayla said seeing women in the program, especially the women who were also mothers, made an impact on her.
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“I was amazed that these women took the time out of their busy lives to get the DBA. I was actually speechless. It showed me that I could be a mother and not stifle my dreams and aspirations,” Mikayla said.
“I can aspire and motivate other women to reach for what they hope and dream for. This degree is empowering, and little girls can see this as something that is obtainable. It is not only the men who can obtain a Ph.D. or a DBA. We can do it, too,” she added.
One of her lecturers, Dr. Reginald Silver, who is also the director of the doctorate program said Mikayla defied the odds to be her student as the the average age for the program is 44.
“MiKayla demonstrates that hard work, persistence, and resilience can result in classroom success at any age,” Silver said,
”This milestone accomplishment positions MiKayla to impact leaders and organizations for a long time to come. It’s exciting to think about the impact that she will have over her career,” she added.
She was one of the 12 scholars who obtained the degree in her set. Mikayla’s dissertation focused on “Customer Success and the Transformation of Customer Relationships,”
She said they have theoretical contributions and real-world implications, directly affecting how academics can further use customer success and how business gets done in the university and globally.
“I looked at the aspects of the customer journey. And, not what has been the traditional ‘master and servant relationship’ to show a more collaborative approach between a firm and its customers,” she said.
Mikayla credits her mother’s mentorship and guidance as crucial to her success for that reason. She dedicated her dissertation to her mother.
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