Building Skills for a Changing Workforce
Master of Liberal Arts Student, Felix Quayson, reflects on education, technology, and the future of work.
Casie Schuller, a product leader at Microsoft, shares how the University of Chicago’s Master of Liberal Arts (MLA) program has expanded her approach to leadership, problem-solving, and interdisciplinary thinking. By integrating humanistic inquiry with technical expertise, she brings a broader, more thoughtful perspective to complex challenges.
In a field often defined by precision and efficiency, Casie Schuller has learned that some of the most valuable insights come from pursuing curiosity and opportunities to engage with education. As a Principal Technical Program Manager Lead and Product Leader at Microsoft, her work sits at the intersection of complex systems, people, and decision-making. Through the University of Chicago’s Master of Liberal Arts (MLA) program, she has found a way to expand that perspective, bringing together technical expertise and humanistic inquiry to approach problems more thoughtfully.
We spoke with Casie about her experience in the MLA and how interdisciplinary study has shaped the way she works, learns, and leads.
What drew you to the MLA program, and what about its interdisciplinary approach felt meaningful to you?
Casie: My undergraduate degree was also interdisciplinary, so I had experience with that approach. What has always appealed to me is that reality isn’t divided into neat categories or academic subjects. Those categories can be helpful for focusing on a specific perspective, but I prefer to look at things from multiple perspectives at the same time. That’s what really drew me to the MLA.
You studied liberal arts, history, philosophy, and literature, after already working in tech. How has that training influenced the way you approach problems in your work today?
Casie: I started in tech before I did any humanities or liberal arts study, so I’ve been able to see a clear before-and-after in how I approach problems.
Before, I had a narrow view of the problem space. I focused on what was directly in front of me, how to solve the problem as it had been defined before reaching me. Now, I naturally zoom out, synthesizing across the bigger picture, seeing the problem through perspectives beyond those who defined it, so that I can solve more dimensions of the problem. For a recent example, zooming out in response to one person’s hypothesis that a specific person was the cause of a specific problem led me to identify and solve other problems that were invisible in the original hypothesis yet critical contributors to the problem.
It’s a wider view, more of a systems-thinking perspective, and it’s changed how I approach both technical and organizational challenges.
Much of your technical expertise has been self-taught. What has that journey taught you about learning and growth?
Casie: My experience is that having a fixed set of knowledge only gets you so far, because the situations you encounter both in life and work are constantly changing.
Taking a self-taught approach really instilled curiosity, discipline, and tenacity. I learned how to figure things out on my own and be resourceful. That’s been key to my professional success and my personal growth.
It also forced me to get comfortable asking other people for help. And that’s not a disadvantage, it’s actually a really important skill.
Has there been a class or experience in the MLA that has been particularly impactful for you?
Casie: One class that really stood out was Democracy in Historical Perspective. We read John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty, and we talked about his argument for protecting free speech, especially minority or unpopular opinions.
The class explored this idea that if you stop engaging with perspectives you disagree with, you’re actually limiting your own understanding of reality. That really stuck with me.
I use that idea at work all the time. It’s easy in a professional setting to focus only on the most efficient solution and ignore perspectives that don’t fit your model. But being open to those perspectives actually helps you solve bigger problems over time. For example, in platform architecture discussions, there’s pressure to converge on one design quickly. Mill’s argument reminds me that the dissenting voice — the one saying ‘this won’t work for my team’s use case’ — is actually stress-testing the design. Suppressing that voice doesn’t make the architecture better, it just makes the failure mode invisible.
Another course that had a big impact was on Mencius and Epictetus, focused on leadership and ethics. Epictetus teaches you to pause before reacting to an impression — to ask whether you actually agree with the framing you’ve been given. That’s incredibly practical in a corporate setting where you’re constantly handed narratives: ‘this is the priority,’ ‘this is the constraint,’ ‘this is what the customer wants.’ The discipline of questioning those framings before accepting them has made me a better leader. Mencius emphasizes that humans have an inherent capacity for virtue and that society/lifestyle habits can crowd the capacity out if we’re not careful. I’m more careful now and less likely to cooperate with something that is getting in the way of my own better judgment. One idea that stayed with me is the importance of pausing before accepting a belief or impression, really questioning whether it’s something you truly agree with.
Looking ahead, how do you hope the MLA will continue to shape the way you think and approach your work?
Casie: Before I joined the program, I often felt what philosopher Martha Nussbaum describes as being a “useful profit maker.” Working in tech, I sometimes felt like I had to set aside parts of myself, my curiosity, my broader interests, to prioritize professional success.
The MLA has been a way to push against that pattern. It gives me space to follow my curiosity and expand how I see the world. That, in turn, has equipped me to make more intentional choices and show up closer to how I want to show up. That has improved my personal life and, I believe, has made me more effective in my role and as a leader.
As a working professional, how has the structure of the MLA supported your ability to balance school and career?
Casie: I actually started three other master’s programs before this one and didn’t stay in them. Part of that was fit, but also structure.
What I appreciate about the MLA is that it really feels designed for working professionals. The workload is manageable, I’ve found it to be about what was promised, and the professors are flexible and supportive. That made a huge difference for me. It allowed me to fully engage with the program while still maintaining a demanding career.
Casie’s experience reflects the value of interdisciplinary thinking in today’s complex professional landscape. By bringing together technical expertise and the perspectives of the liberal arts, she continues to expand how she approaches leadership, problem-solving, and learning, demonstrating how the MLA can support both intellectual growth and real-world impact.
If you’re interested in exchanging and sharpening your ideas across multiple disciplines, take our quiz to find out if the MLA is right for you.
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