When Ryan Roberts told his family he wanted to earn his bachelor鈥檚 degree, there was a collective pause.
How?
How would he earn a degree when his job takes him 10,000 miles away for more than half of the year? How would he find time for coursework and the Youngsville preschool he co-owns with his wife Amy? How would homework happen for him as well as for his son Hudson?
Endurance, time management, and a lot of support.
鈥淪ometimes you can鈥檛 see the way. You have to deal with it on a daily basis,鈥 Roberts, 45, says. 鈥淵ou have to wake up every morning and look at how your day is and schedule accordingly. If not, you become overwhelmed and give up from the beginning.鈥
Roberts didn鈥檛 give up. Thanks to his family's support and the flexibility of the 青青草视频's General Studies online program, he'll receive his bachelor's degree this week.
More Than a Degree
Roberts first enrolled at UL Lafayette almost 20 years ago, dividing his time among nursing clinicals during the day, working operations dispatching at nights and on weekends, and working in the oil industry during summer breaks to earn money for books and tuition. Ultimately, opportunities in the industry lured him away from his studies.
He progressed in his field, becoming a project operations manager. And while his position called him to Australia for much of the year, he and his wife Amy achieved their dream of operating a preschool together 鈥 Creative Minds 鈥 in 2004.
But Roberts says he realized he needed to get ahead of changes as both a business owner and an employee.
鈥淪ociety and technology changes at a rapid pace; you鈥檙e left behind or struggling to keep up,鈥 Roberts says. 鈥淓nrolling helped me be more effective and efficient in how we were doing business.鈥
Roberts says he chose General Studies because he didn鈥檛 just want a degree, he wanted online courses that were applicable to who he was, his experience, and what he wanted to achieve.
鈥淭he General Studies program offered diversity, allowing me to choose those specific disciplines where I wanted to focus my attention,鈥 he says.
鈥淚t allowed me to use my hard-earned credits from the nursing program while advancing my education in technical writing, computer literacy, ethics, management of behavior and organizations, industrial and organizational psychology, organizational leadership, E-business, and more.鈥
When he learned about UL Lafayette鈥檚 online degree programs, he knew it was the right path, but Roberts was intimidated by the prospect of returning to school after 20 years and embracing a completely different format.
鈥淭here was a fear factor involved,鈥 he says. 鈥淭his is more responsibility, in my opinion. You have to manage your time and teach yourself along the way. The dynamics are completely different.鈥
Completing coursework in non-traditional settings came with unique challenges. Among them, Roberts found his access to UL Lafayette鈥檚 online library databases blocked by international internet servers.
But he found a connected and supportive environment, whether he was completing his coursework in Youngsville or across the world.
鈥淥ne of the instructors last semester, with the help of the IT department, helped me find a workaround to gain library access,鈥 Roberts says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great. Those resources are there, they鈥檙e abundant and they helped me to be a better student.鈥
Roberts says he also formed meaningful connections with his fellow students.
鈥淲e learned from each other by doing. We were able to share ideas and concepts through various forums and projects during the semester,鈥 he says.
鈥淏eing an older student allowed me the opportunity to share my years of experience in the business world with other students during the semester. The best connections were working team projects such as the development of a business from design to delivery.鈥
Staying Ahead [of Central Standard Time]
Time management wasn鈥檛 listed on any of Roberts鈥 syllabi, but he says he had to quickly develop that skill to accomplish his coursework, especially because most days he鈥檚 in another time zone, 13 hours ahead of instructors and peers.
Roberts says he printed his syllabi each semester, and he checked his courses constantly in Moodle through the UL Lafayette mobile app.
鈥淭here is little room for procrastination in the online program,鈥 he says. 鈥淪taying ahead of technology and the coursework is a fundamental requirement.
鈥淸Online courses] taught me to look for opportunities when I could read that chapter, or get online, or do a bit of research. If I didn鈥檛 take advantage of those moments, I was falling behind.鈥
Team Roberts
Being able to carve out time to study at home, Roberts says, couldn鈥檛 have happened without his wife.
In addition to managing the day-to-day operations of Creative Minds Preschool, Amy had to manage the household and their son鈥檚 extracurriculars.
鈥淎my picked up a lot of the responsibilities at home to allow me to focus and study because she wanted this to happen for me; she knew how important this was for me,鈥 Roberts says. 鈥淪he鈥檚 been tremendously supportive and patient. I鈥檓 forever grateful for that.鈥
The pair has experienced an unexpected benefit from their hard work. Their 10-year-old has become more proactive about his academics, says Roberts.
鈥淗udson has learned by example. He sees me up late at night; he sees the results of my tests. We often spend most of our time studying and learning from each other,鈥 says Roberts. 鈥淗is grades are up, and we don鈥檛 have to stay on him about his homework.鈥
Ready for Tomorrow
Roberts says pursuing his degree has made him more equipped for the present as he plans for the future, serving in a more globalized role for his company.
鈥淪ince enrolling in the online program, I am better prepared for the future with the ability to do more,鈥 Roberts says. 鈥淚鈥檝e gained fundamentals from diverse disciplines to effectively shape and structure business environments from a broader spectrum of sound theories.鈥
This bachelor鈥檚 degree will serve as a stepping stone for Roberts. He says he鈥檚 interested in pursuing a Master of Business Administration in globalization or related specialty.