Success Stories

Jason Ransom is the first to admit that he was fortunate to get into the medical field early in his career, he says. In Jason’s words, “By developing relationships and through a lot of hard work and effort, I rose to the level of a corporate vice president without the benefit of having a college degree.” Despite not having his degree, education has always been a family value. He’s married and has five kids. “Higher education is something my wife and I talk about quite a bit with our kids,” he says. “I wanted to be authentic when sharing our values, and the importance of earning a college degree. In order to be a true role model to my kids, I felt I needed to walk the walk.” Want to try an online class? Take two free le ...

Cynthia Matthews was sitting in her student advisor’s office at Grambling State University. With the help of her student advisor, she was going through a last-minute checklist to finalize the details of her upcoming graduation. It was a proud moment for this mother of five. She had completed all of the requirements necessary to earn her bachelor’s degree. “After my last child finished high school, people would ask me what was I going to do with myself,” said Cynthia. “For me, it was never a question. I was going to go back to school and earn my college degree.” Want to try an online class? Take two free lessons on us today! Education has always been extremely important to Cynthia. “I work at a high school as an admini ...

Deirdre Henderson is very clear about her educational and career goals. However, that hasn’t always been the case. When she first started working at Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide seven years ago as an executive assistant, she was just glad to have a job and an employer that she liked. Also, she enjoyed working in the hotel industry. Then she discovered accounting - and in that field, she found her calling. In fact, she loves it: “The accounting department was located next to the office where HR was located. Over time, I became interested in what they were doing for the company, and eventually took a position in accounts payable. As soon as I started working in the accounting department, I decided this is it. This is what I wa ...

Sonya Young lives in Florida and has been in the workforce for nearly 20 years. She’s an accountant who already has her Associate in Applied Science in Accounting. Over the years since her first job, she got married, and kept working. Life was busy - and it continues to be busy. But that hasn’t stopped Sonya from pursuing additional academic credentials and her bachelor’s degree. Sonya originally started her career in an entry-level position in accounting, and her talent in accounting quickly became apparent. After she earned her associate degree, she was able to take on new responsibilities. She got promoted - several times. Now, she’s a financial officer at a nonprofit. And yet, around 8 years ago, Sonya realized that “not ...

Jenna Rygol had been working in human resources for over 15 years before she “got the opportunity to be laid off.” Jenna intentionally uses the word “opportunity” because she chose to view her downsizing as a great chance to decide, as an adult, what she really wanted to do. Says Jenna, “After I graduated high school, I went right to college, but I never thought about what I really wanted to do with my life.” Now she had the perfect opportunity to do so. Want to try an online class? Take two free lessons on us today! An Opportunity to Choose a New Career Path “I have three boys, ages 5, 8, and 9 and I was travelling a lot [at my old job],” Jenna told us. “When I got this opportunity, and a great severance package, ...