LAGUNA HILLS : Father, Son Proud of Each Other’s MBA

Tim Saunders, 52, is a proud father. His son, Scott, received his master’s of business administration degree from UC Irvine on Saturday.

But Scott Saunders, 25, is also a proud son.

His father received his MBA from UCI on Saturday, too.

“He has a really good work ethic,” the younger Saunders said about his dad, a Laguna Hills resident who founded Mission Pest Control. “He gets a lot out of his time. With work and school, he still goes out and does social events. It’s really impressive.”

Tim Saunders has equally good things to say about his son, who earned his bachelor’s degree in physics from UC Santa Barbara before attending UCI.

“Scott’s the intellect in the family,” he said, detailing study sessions in which his son would tutor him in statistics.

The two didn’t have any classes together because Tim Saunders participated in the executive MBA program for working professionals, while Scott was in the regular MBA program.

The elder Saunders said it felt a bit strange stepping foot on a college campus again after 30 years away, but that eventually he made new acquaintances among the shorts and T-shirt-clad young people.

“I felt comfortable,” Tim Saunders said. “But I think occasionally they mistook me for a professor instead of a student.”

The elder Saunders said he will use his new business management knowledge to improve his pest control company, which he founded in 1975 with two employees. Today, 45 employees are on his payroll.

The younger Saunders will move to Washington for a job with the Department of Defense. He had attended UCI on a Defense Department scholarship.