Ending Two Years of Distance

¶ … ending two years of distance learning with the University of Phoenix. When considering how many hours a week I spent in my coursework, it seems much more than two years. On the other hand, it feels as if the time just sped by. I wonder where the time went. I am pleased that this last assignment gives me the opportunity to review my professional and personal background and experiences. It will provide me with further insights on how I reached my present point and where I want to head in the years to come.

Education has long been important to me. Early on, I recognized it is essential that I continually acquire new knowledge in order to better myself as well as the world for others to come. After high school graduation, I joined the United States Navy. This was an incredible learning experience. As an Aviation Warfare System Operator, Chief Petty Officer, I was always involved with the most high-tech computer sensor systems available. I also had the chance to regularly attend classes in the latest technologies to apply to my job. There was no end to the challenges that faced me from one day to the next.

When I retired after 17 years with the service in 1999, it was necessary to make some difficult decisions for the next stage of my life. I was only 38 years old, so had many years ahead of me. My wife, Gina, and I had already raised two girls, Jennifer (now 28) and Kristi (22) and were empty-nesters. This gave me additional time as well as financial stability to look at a variety of options.

Going back to school was mandatory, if I wanted to pursue a career that had promotional opportunities. These days, it is necessary to have a degree to move ahead. I decided to go for an Associates Degree in computer information technology because of my Navy experience and personal interest in the field.

I was hesitant to go immediately for my bachelor's degree, because there were a lot of unknowns about going to college so many years after my high school graduation. I also wanted to get a job while attending school part time; this would be easier while acquiring an associate's. Naturally, I had to make some transitions, such as being surrounded by students the age and mindset of my own daughters. However, these were soon worked out. I related stories about the real world outside of academia. The other students helped me learn the ins and outs of things that have changed significantly over the years -- like conducting research at the school library.

A soon took at job as a Training Specialist at Logistics Services International, a civilian Department of Defense contractor. I build Web-based training products and courseware, which had made good use of both my Navy and school coursework. I am still with this company and hope to be promoted in the near future because of experience, skills and education. There is enough room for growth, so I plan on being here for some time.

I knew my associate's degree was just the beginning of my pursuit of further education. After looking around at different schools, the University of Phoenix seemed appropriate because of its reputation in information technology as well as its distance learning capability. As a bonus, the school offers military discounts to servicepeople.

A decided to take the "flex" option for a bachelor's of science in information technology, so I could complete a degree in a relatively short period of time, spend a brief period on campus, and have the flexibility of doing studies around my job.

In fact, flexibility was one of the best aspects of distance learning. I could learn in my own time -- even early morning, late at night and weekends -- from any computer. Admittedly, the "work at your own pace" was not appropriate to my situation. The demands were tough. Because each course was only five weeks long, I really had to hustle. Not only would I fall behind and perhaps not be able to catch up, but I owed it to my team members not to let them down. Flexibility was also in the different methods of communication, including lectures, readings, newsgroups and chats. University of Phoenix promised to "to provide you with as many distance learning and online education opportunities as possible," and the school filled its commitment.

That was another positive aspect about the distance learning -- some of the coursework was independent, but a lot of it was with team members. There were three of us who were together the entire two years. We have become good friends, online and off. Also, with every course there were other people who joined us. There was a good diversity of students, most of them working and older like myself.

Similarly, the faculty members, or facilitators, were a big plus, because they were all involved in occupations outside of the school. I learned a great deal about the types of jobs available and work being done all over the country in information technology. It was a good way to keep up-to-date on what was new in the field. One of my favorite general courses was general studies. This was the first class I took, and the facilitator was phenomenal. Her combination of knowledge, motivation and enthusiasm set the stage for my two years to come. The other general studies course I liked was English composition. Having more skills in the area mathematics and science, this was a good learning tool for me. As for the IT courses, I valued the Visual Basic I and Visual Basic II courses the most, since they were very helpful with my daily work.

If there was anything I could change about the distance learning, it would be to move more of the core courses back into the beginning year. For example, the networking course was placed in the last two-thirds of the curricula. I would put it in the initial one-third of classes, because it is important to have these skills as a foundation for later on.

I have been very please with my courses through the University of Phoenix and all the benefits that came with it. For good or bad, I will miss those long nights and weekends online with team members trying to solve a problem. I decided on this degree to build up my information technology abilities and received a lot more than that. The courses also taught written and oral communications, information retrieval and research.

I have not yet decided whether or not I will go on for my master's degree. I am going to take off a year and spend some time on my other interests such as working in the garden, hunting and softball. I also enjoy mentoring a now 11th-grade student at the local high school once a week. Over the three years that we have been meeting, I have seen him change much for the better. This is not an academic mentoring, rather being there to support him with any of his personal concerns.