Success Stories

There are people who find success by doing what other people have done. Then there are people like StraighterLine student Matthew Hines, who has found his own, bigger way to achieve success. Matthew has taken 24 StraighterLine courses to date, which makes him one of the most active StraighterLine students ever. He also estimates that those courses have helped him shave about $18,000 from his college costs and avoid taking on a big debt load. But that’s only part of the story. Let’s hear what Matthew told StraighterLine in a recent interview. StraighterLine:  Can you tell us a bit about your background and why you are going to college? Matthew Hines: I live in Washington State. I’m 30, so it has been about a dozen years since ...

If you chat with Cassidy Coker for just a minute or two, you realize pretty quickly that she is a young woman who gets things done in a courageous, pioneering and personal way. Although she is still in her high school years, she is already running her own business as a professional photographer. She also does lots of volunteer work to help families and children. In fact, we spoke with her the day before she left her native Texas to spend several weeks rebuilding houses that had been damaged in Hurricane Sandy. You’ll enjoy this recent conversation that Barry Lenson, our blog editor, recently had with this confident and remarkable young woman . . . Barry Lenson: Where are you in school now and what are you doing? Cassidy Coker: I ...

For the last 21 years, Jennifer Howe has been enjoying a successful career at Scripps Health, a nonprofit consortium of four hospitals located in San Diego.  But when she discovered StraighterLine recently, her career began to move forward in new ways. “I started with Scripps as a Unit Secretary, went to school to get my LVN license with the goal of becoming an RN,” Jennifer tells StraighterLine. “However, bedside nursing was not to happen for me. Currently, I have been an Administrative Assistant on the Cardiology Unit, and I have enjoyed that position for almost eight years.” How did Jennifer discover StraighterLine? It happened when she was taking one of the career development workshops that Scripps provides to its personn ...

Melissa Molina has taken seven StraighterLine classes, and she plans to take more. Why is she such a committed StraighterLine student? “I added the money up and discovered that they cost me an average of about $50 per class,” Melissa ways with a laugh.  But when you talk to this energetic young New Yorker, you learn that StraighterLine did more than just save her money. Here are notes from a recent conversation. StraighterLine:  What led you to StraighterLine? Melissa Molina:  There I was in my twenties. I had a good job as an office manager in a radiology practice, but I realized that if I wanted to advance my career, I needed to earn a college degree.  So I went online and found StraighterLine. I have to say, I was ...

In September, 2012, a student named Donnie Davis was grappling with the fact that he only needed to complete one three-credit course before he could earn his Bachelor of Business Administration from Strayer University. “I was thinking of CLEPPING it,” he says, meaning that he was about to take one of the CLEP exams to earn the credits he needed to graduate. Then a Dean at Strayer suggested, “Why don’t you think about taking the course you need at StraighterLine?” Up to that point, Davis had not heard of StraighterLine. He was a busy guy, working several jobs, including one as a medical lab technician. How could he find time to complete a course? But he checked out StraighterLine online and enrolled in Western Civilizatio ...