Kurt Klein attended high school in Mahomet, Illinois, where he graduated in 1992. After high school, Klein attended Texas Tech University from 1992-1994 and studied civil engineering. However, after three failed attempts at passing the engineering/math/science mainframe, he was asked to seek a new area of study. It was at this time that Klein began to discover his true passions and pursue them with zeal.
Although he never played sports, Klein loved to exercise. After evaluating his options, he decided to transfer to the University of North Texas and focus his studies on exercise and sports science. At UNT, he earned his bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology.
After graduating from UNT, Klein entered the professional world and began climbing the corporate ladder. Wanting to climb higher than his education allowed, he was told by his organization that he would need to earn his master’s degree. Thus, he began researching various MBA programs and discovered Hallmark University.
“I chose Hallmark because it was an accelerated program and completely online. From a cost perspective, it had every other school beat. I had been out of academia for nearly 20 years at that point so the online experience was new. I found that I really enjoyed this approach to education. The professors and instructors I had the distinct pleasure to learn from were 110% real and their demeanor made me believe they were all rooting for me to succeed. I happened to graduate from Hallmark the same year my oldest son graduated from High School.”
Upon reflection of his educational and professional journey, “You just never know where your journey will take you. All through High School, I studied drafting and design. I took shop classes and electrical wiring classes as my electives. I was going to go to college, study civil engineering and architecture, join the Air Force and become a pilot. I thought my true passion was kinesiology and it surely is high up on the list. What I find I love the most and am most passionate about is leadership and teaching people how to be better people both at work and at home. All of this is about a million miles away from where I started.”
Since graduating from Hallmark University with an MBA in Global Management, Klein and his wife have become the primary owners and operators of a health and wellness center in New Braunfels, Texas. Additionally, Klein is authoring his first book on leadership and establishing his own distillery.
Kurt Klein, Hallmark University class of 2014. MBA in Global Management