When Jolene Stetz completed her first-class at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) with an A, she knew she was lastly in the proper place, at the proper time and surrounded by the proper workers, school and friends. She felt supported, for probably the first time, in her pursuit of upper schooling.
After highschool, she wasn’t positive of her profession objectives. “I simply felt like I wanted to type of set up what I needed to do with my life and the place I would like it to be,” Stetz stated. Having already attended two conventional schools, she additionally realized that day lessons and commute time didn’t match her life-style. On prime of that, a adverse expertise with an teacher left her feeling alone in her journey.
But now, Stetz is a month away from ending her on-line bachelor’s in advertising and marketing at SNHU, the place she’s maintained a 4.0 GPA whereas working full-time as a content material editor for a video licensing firm.
“The flexibility that Southern New Hampshire University presents – I in all probability wouldn’t have ever been ready to return to highschool with out it,” she stated.
Motivated by Mom
Stetz realized that her mom, who didn’t have a university diploma, felt caught in her life as soon as her youngsters grew up and moved away from house.
“She did not need me to ever really feel trapped, or to ever really feel like I had hit a wall in my life, in my profession,” Stetz stated. She believed schooling and expertise are the approach ahead, and he or she needed her daughter to have the capability to develop her skilled life.
After her mom handed away, Stetz determined as soon as and for all to return to highschool – and made it her precedence.
Given her earlier faculty experiences, Stetz sought a college she might depend on for assist and adaptability – standards she knew she wanted. So, along with her mom’s hopes for her, paired with a greater understanding of herself and her objectives, she discovered her option to SNHU.
“When I received accepted to SNHU, I used to be ecstatic,” Stetz stated. “I used to be so positive that I would not even be accepted to school.”
Better but, she was in a position to switch a number of lessons value of credit she beforehand earned, accelerating her timeline, placing her on monitor to complete her bachelor’s diploma in simply over two years.
Navigating Enrollment and Coursework with Support
Stetz didn’t need to undergo her schooling alone – and he or she would not. From her first telephone name with an admission counselor to inquire about SNHU and the software course of, she knew she might belief the establishment. “(The admission counselor) was very open, talked to me by each query that I had … after which gave me issues that I hadn’t even thought to ask,” Stetz stated.
She can full her coursework every week when it is sensible for her – typically after she will get out of labor at 5 pm and makes dinner. Even when she reaches out to instructors with questions at evening, she typically hears again inside a few hours – and typically as quick as quarter-hour. “It made me really feel like my time was essential and my schedule was essential,” Stetz stated.
Plus, she is aware of her instructors deliver a wealth of data to the classroom and are professionally certified, having real-world expertise working with organizations from NASA to NBC.
“I used to be shocked by the degree of assist as a result of I felt like I hadn’t had that in the previous,” she stated. “And then getting into (SNHU) … swiftly, everybody was on my group. Everyone needed to assist me succeed.”
She didn’t solely achieve information and assist from her instructors. Stetz additionally felt the weekly on-line dialogue posts enriched her expertise.
“Getting the suggestions on the dialogue boards from college students from throughout the place with all completely different sorts of backgrounds has actually opened my very own experiences and improved the depth that I’m getting from the info in school as a result of I can see the way it applies to different folks and to different walks of life,” she stated.
Now she’s mates with lots of her classmates on social media, and so they typically examine in with each other to see how they’re doing and focus on assignments and their lives typically.
“I really feel like there’s this connotation about on-line faculty that it’s important to do it alone … I have not felt that in any respect,” Stetz stated.
Growing in Industry Knowledge and Confidence
Stetz determined to pursue a bachelor’s diploma in advertising and marketing with a double focus in digital advertising and marketing and social media advertising and marketing as a result of they merge her curiosity in digital media and her need for a robust enterprise basis.
In her present position, she edits movies for an organization with greater than 400 media companions globally to share on a number of social media platforms and research analytics to tell social media technique.
“I commonly use my coursework in my skilled life when it comes to simply figuring out all of the information analytics that goes into my job is supported by my coursework,” she stated. “And we do loads with copyright regulation which was actually useful after I took a enterprise regulation class.” Now she will be able to make educated suggestions relating to contract updates and normal enterprise strikes that profit each the buyer and the firm.
“I really feel like my coursework at SNHU is permitting me to be a greater coworker and a greater worker,” she stated.
Having the trade information she realized in the classroom has additionally helped her develop confidence, whether or not sitting in a gathering at work or networking with enterprise leaders. “I believe my diploma has taught me loads about myself and given me a self-confidence that I by no means had earlier than,” Stetz stated.
When she faucets right into a community of enterprise professionals by her honor societies, she understands the trade jargon they use. “And that’s such a enjoyable feeling to be in the in-crowd,” she stated.
Now that she’s wrapping up her bachelor’s diploma, her educational advisor, Rob Sturgis, helps her apply to grasp’s diploma applications. Her aim is to grow to be a advertising and marketing director at a global firm at some point. Being in a position to advance her schooling whereas persevering with to get real-world expertise may also help place her for fulfillment.
“I believe, greater than something, Southern New Hampshire (University) felt like the place for me due to the assist that I had gotten proper from the starting and that hasn’t stopped since,” Stetz stated.
Consider how a bachelor’s diploma can change your life.
Rebecca LeBoeuf ’18 is a author at Southern New Hampshire University. Connect along with her on LinkedIn.
