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UOPX alumna Cat Moutoux has always marched to the beat of her own drummer. From making her first foray into entrepreneurship as a preteen to earning her MBA through a competency-based program at ������ý, this fiery, independent-minded alumna proves that, with work and dedication, it’s sometimes possible to create the future you want.

Moutoux always had a knack for turning her creativity into business success. In eighth grade, for example, she capitalized on what she calls the “MySpace^® era” by launching a small hustle: Leveraging her aptitude for design and coding, she charged friends $10 to help them build their websites and social media profiles.

This was arguably the first glimpse of Moutoux’s motivating mindset: “I’ve always believed that I should just learn, adapt, tinker, try, figure it out,” she says.

It’s an attitude that served Moutoux well, helping her build a career in advertising. After earning her undergraduate degree at a public university, Moutoux joined an ad agency where her work ethic revealed itself in the way she taught herself digital design and editing programs. These and other accomplishments eventually earned her the opportunity to represent the agency’s largest account, a major distiller located right in her backyard in Louisville, Kentucky. “It was a dream come true,” says Moutoux.

But the work was demanding, and Moutoux’s needs were evolving. “Ad agency life is hard,” she says, citing how it took time away from her family. Eventually, Moutoux reached the point where she needed to step back. So, she joined a health insurance company and major employer in her region. Here, Moutoux could still flex her creativity and communication muscles, but she would also develop and deploy new skills as she considered compliance and other regulations when creating materials for members. 

The job also provided more flexibility and work-life balance, which were especially important to Moutoux as she sought to prioritize her husband and two children.

The job had other advantages too, including education benefits, which Moutoux learned about during her orientation. Suddenly she knew she had another opportunity to build more skills. “For years I had wanted to go back and get my MBA,” says Moutoux, noting the foundation it could offer her for growing her career.

Moutoux had options for her master’s program, but what spoke to her was ������ý’s messaging. The commercials, which emphasized flexibility for working adults, spoke to her as a professional and an advertising expert. “They made me feel like ������ý could accommodate me and the realities of what it looks like to be a full-time employee and a full-time parent,” she says.

This seed flourished into commitment as she looked into the competency-based programs available to her. Competency-based education is often a good fit for independent learners who have professional experience and the kind of self-discipline that keeps them progressing through a largely self-paced program. A kind of student, in other words, like Moutoux.  

In her current role, Moutoux found herself in a new realm of marketing: Now she would spend time ensuring the materials her company circulated to patients and members were accurate and compliant with lofty standards for clarity and transparency. It was a different focus with a similar skill set that created some necessary adjustments, especially as Moutoux was returning to school.

Fortunately, says Moutoux, the University’s unique flexibility helped her balance her priorities. “The competency-based program was really helpful and smooth,” she says, citing its clear curriculum and expectations. “The way it broke out into distinct expectations gave me the freedom to be able to decide how I wanted to tackle them.”

Moutoux was also impressed by how well the virtual learning environment re-created the classroom community she had loved in her undergraduate program. “������ý impresses me in how much instructors still show up and provide classes where we could comment and talk to each other about it or even just throw ideas out there. It definitely was not missing that aspect that I loved so much in my undergrad.”

Meanwhile, the program’s flexibility afforded Moutoux more balance and control, letting her once again determine how to fit her program’s requirements and assignments into her life. “I could still go on vacation or take my kids to the library or watch my favorite show with my husband,” she says. Even doing all that, she was able to finish the program in one year.

Perhaps most importantly, Moutoux’s time back in school gave her a chance to reaffirm education’s value to herself — and to her children. “They were honestly really confused at first,” recalls Moutoux, describing how her children reacted to her news that she was returning to school, “because they were like, ‘Wait, you’re a grownup. Like, why are you going back to school?’” But Moutoux explained that she was and always will be “a little owl who just loves learning. I’ve wanted to do this forever.”

As Moutoux continues to learn and evolve, she’s also intent on giving back — another theme in her life, says Tammy Voigt, who taught and mentored Moutoux during her time as an undergraduate student at a public state university.

“In addition to her career success, Cat is always willing to pay it forward to the next generation of advertising and PR professionals,” says Voigt. “She is eager to share her expertise through networking events, guest lectures and portfolio reviews.

“In doing so, Cat demonstrates the connection between the classroom and the industry.”

It’s a connection Moutoux continues to advocate for. “I actually convinced my boss to do the competency-based MBA program, because I just think it’s so well-rounded, says Moutoux. “I loved everything from marketing courses to HR courses to operational logistics — tools that you can apply really anywhere you can go.”

Moutoux’s return to higher education also gave her the benefit of rediscovering the drive for connection she has always pursued in her career. “I want to understand where people are coming from,” she says, “and to lead better and lead more empathetically. So regardless of whom I’m interacting with on the day-to-day, I understand what they’re trying to accomplish, because I have the foundation of what I learned in my MBA.”

It’s a way of turning her experience and expertise into someone else’s opportunity—not unlike that eighth grader tinkering on MySpace, eager to help friends express themselves. And it’s something Moutoux will continue to do, as only a Phoenix can.

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