My Personal Brand

I am a 34-year old college student. I went to College: Part One when I was the traditional college age, and since I knew everything there was to know in life (except what I wanted to do for a career), I quit going to school just two courses shy of my Associates Degree. Brilliant. Nearly four years ago I came to the realization that I was topped out. I have the potential to make a great career with my current employer, but finishing school had to become a priority before the door to future professional growth would open. Working at an academic medical institution really can light a fire under your tush - it feels as though everyone has credentials behind their names.

I returned to my original college to take care of those last two courses to finally complete my Associates Degree. For me, it was important to finish what I had started there, and then I was ready to pursue my Bachelor's degree. In College: Part One, I was on a path to the nursing program. I would probably be making a great salary by now (half my life later), and who knows, I could have very well ended up loving that career path - but the person I am today has no desire to be a nurse. With my work and life experience leading up to going back to school, I decided that business is where I would like to focus. And after working at a medical institution for nearly nine years, I find the business of healthcare to be quite fascinating.

Enrolling at a university as an adult was intimidating, likely as it would have been at the traditional college age, except I didn't have my parents there to help me get settled in. You can build an entire story in your mind about how things will be - how you will be perceived, stress about whether your performance will be what you want it to be, stress about whether you will be able to figure out where you need to go, etc. And don't get me started about the stress of getting back into the "student" mindset again. The good news is that everyone was quite helpful on campus and pointed me in the right direction.

I selected Management for my major, signed up for my first two courses at UTA, and so began College: Part Two. My first semester was not fun - I took a Business Calculus course (reeeeeeeally should have done that one at a Community College, btw), and the instructor was a disgruntled PhD candidate who clearly did not want to be there. He would yell at us (yes, yell at us, adults!), threaten us with extra difficult problems on exams, and humiliate us if we asked questions in class. It was a nightmare, but thank goodness that has not at all been my experience beyond the first semester. My second semester was infinitely better than my first, and my third was even better than my second.

My weekends are quite different from how they used to be - I try to mix things

up by studying at coffee shops for a change of scenery from time to time

I signed up for Principles of Marketing because it was a required course, but I will admit that I was excited about it. Several of my friends are marketers, and while they all do different types of things within various areas of the field, one common element is that they are all happy with their career choice. Principles of Marketing went so well that I decided to enroll in a second marketing course the very next semester, Retail Marketing.

Out on an observation excursion for my Retail Marketing project in Spring 2016

I learned that I could earn my Business Administration degree with dual majors, and there would be no additional hours required. I would just need to declare that I am pursuing a dual major, and my degree plan would be refreshed with a more focused list of course requirements. I placed myself on the Management and Marketing dual major plan, and I am glad I did. Since then I completed Consumer Behavior, which is something I could see myself diving into even deeper - the psychology of marketing - love it. And now I am half-way through the spring semester with Marketing Research and Social Media Marketing. The giant nerd in me is especially enjoying the Marketing Research course because we are going through a semester-long research project as we learn about the marketing research process itself. Everything I have learned from my various marketing courses directly feeds into the research course, and it satisfies my general interest in digging deeper for further understanding. Working around physician-scientists, I am immersed in a culture of the constant quest for new knowledge and problem solving through research.

Three years at UTA have completely flown by. I started out lacking 22 courses for my undergraduate degree, and now I only lack 5. It took nearly no time to learn my way around, and I even found TWO Starbucks locations on campus! It turns out I am not the oldest student here - in fact, since I take evening courses, I would estimate I am the median age. I feel it enriches the learning experience even more, having 20 year olds and 60 year olds in the same classroom. The conversations are richer, and we all learn from each other's unique paths and diverse experiences in class discussions. The coursework, while challenging at times, turned out to not be too difficult overall, and my biggest hurdle has been time management and developing the self-discipline to stay home and study when my real desire was to be out socializing. Speaking of socializing, I have met several new friends in my classmates, and I even have budding friendships with faculty!

To make light of parents who post a pic of their kid on the first day of school, I have
posted a photo of myself (wearing the same outfit, no less) on the first day of school
each of my four 'first days' back in College: Part Two - I can tell I have aged!

I plan to take two courses over the summer, then I should have a manageable final semester of three courses this fall. And I was able to accomplish this while simultaneously continuing to grow my career. When asked about my experience of going back to school, the one word that consistently comes up is 'meaningful'. Most people complete their college education immediately after high school. I may have taken the scenic route, but I found my way back.

I would love nothing more than to do this across the stage at graduation