Pursuit of Excellence
The Path of a Lifelong Learner
By VIVIAN LaMOORE, INAAJIMOWIN EDITOR
Brian Dorr, Mille Lacs Band member was born and raised in Minneapolis and is the son of Carmen and Wesley Dorr Jr. His educational journey has led him to fascinating places meeting scores of interesting people and he has now reached another important milestone by receiving a Doctorate Degree in Business Administration, at the age of 38.
He graduated from DeLaSalle High School in 2002. He then immediately entered the University of Minnesota majoring in English. “I wanted to be a high school English teacher at one point,” he said. Through his studies for his Bachelor’s degree he studied abroad in London for one semester in fall of 2004 and interned at an international market research company in the training and development department.
“That gave me a sense of business and human resources and training. And I liked it,” he said. He graduated from the UofM with a BS in English in 2006. From there he used his freshly gained knowledge to work as a sales manager in a department store leading teams of up to 50 people. And that led him to wanting more education.
He entered the Masters of Business Administration degree program at the College of St. Scholastica. During that degree he took a traveling course through China. “We went to Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai studying international business,” he said.
After he received his Master’s degree, he continued to work in management. He also started teaching at the Minnesota School of Business for several years as a side job part-time.
Then four years ago, he decided to go back to school and entered Metropolitan State University Doctor of Business Administration program while teaching business classes as well. Time flew by and in December of 2021, it was time for him to defended his dissertation.
“As a teacher I was asked to teach a class at the Stillwater correctional facility teaching college classes to inmates. I found the inmates to be really good students, and wanted to do my dissertation on employment following incarceration.” For his required original research project he paired human resources with incarceration looking at employers who are willing to hire formerly incarcerated people. He interviewed 15 employers who were willing to hire former inmates, and analyzed that data.
Dorr currently works in Human Resources at Hennepin County where he has been for seven years managing a team of 24 people while overseeing compensation, benefits, employee engagement, culture, etc. “I really enjoy that job,” he said.
Dorr defended the dissertation in December and took the scholarly walk to receive his PhD on Saturday, May 8.
It may seem like it took a long time to get there, but all of the years between colleges gained him experience that has helped him with every step. All with the benefit of being a lifelong learner and making lifelong friends along the way.
Reflecting on his education he said a lot of people may get discouraged that it takes a long time to earn a degree. “Don’t be scared when you are looking at programs, thinking 'oh, this is going to take a long time.' When you are learning and engaged in the content, it just flies by,” he said. “And if you are thinking about it, that shows that you have an interest that you want to do it, so just go for it. If you have the initial thought to start, that means you want to do it. You make a lot of great friends in educational programs.”
The combination of his work experience and education has prepared well to become an instructor. He enjoys sharing his knowledge with his students who are grateful for him to be helping them. Dorr recently also started teaching as a senior lecturer at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management — one of the top business schools in the country. He has 85 students in his class this last semester. “Each day, I talk about course concepts and share my own experiences,” he said. And yes, he is still working a full-time job.
Dorr’s advice to kids who are just graduating high school who maybe are undecided about their next step: “Keep your mind open. Look at all types of programs. There will be something out there that will suit you. There are a lot of resources that will help you with tutoring, counseling, housing, etc. Even if you feel you are not ready. The schools want to help you succeed. Education is all about wanting it. If you have that mindset, you can get the resources to help you. If you put effort and energy into your education and you use those resources that are available to you, you will most likely succeed. That all starts by inquiring. Talk to people. Look at school websites. And most important, the Mille Lacs Band Higher Education and Scholarship office is a huge help.
And to those who think they are too old to go back to school, he laughed and said, “You are never too old to go back to school.”