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Vanessa is a 24-year-old stay-at-home mom, wife, military spouse, and veteran. She started her online education while she was still in the Navy. After receiving an honorable discharge, getting married, and having two beautiful girls in two years, she is still going strong with her education at Ashford University. She is currently doubling up on classes with hopes to attend graduation December 2009 with a Bachelor's in Business Administration.
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I just started my current classes last week at Ashford University. On your first day, you are required to post an introduction about yourself. My introduction is much like the one that I have posted here at elearners.com. My introduction in my classes talked about how I am a stay at home mother and also how I am doubling up on classes. Usually, the responses from my classmates are very positive. I had one individual though, that said something that just kind of hit a nerve. Here is a quote that she said in her post which I am referring to: "Wow Vanessa double classes, that seems like a heavy load! I was thinking about doubling classes, but with me working a full time job and then having to running my family I have my hands quite full. You are lucky you have the luxury to do that." Now, I know that I am very lucky to be able to stay home with my children right now while they are young, there is no doubt about that. But for anybody that is a stay at home parent, especially to little ones, they know that we also have a full time job as well. My "job" is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. I do not get days off. I do not get sick days or paid vacations, and I definitely do not get paid by the hour or salary. I decided for myself to continue on with my education because I wanted to set a good example for my children and be able to help them have the future that I never had. I think what bugged me about what this lady had wrote was the fact that 1. she didn't think that I have a full time job as well and I do raise my family, and 2. that she didn't think she could do it as well. I am a firm believer that life is about choices. If you want somethig bad enough, you will find a way to do it. Because I want my degree that bad, I stay up way past midnight because that is my quiet time to work on homework, I don't go out much, and I live off coffee. All the while taking care if my children and husband. So, before you judge somebody for their occupation, or lack thereof, make sure you know all the details. And remember, the grass is not always greener on the other side.
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So I am currently taking two classes this term at Ashford University: BUS311 Business Law I and ENG 125 Introduction to Literature. I am getting ready to end my 2ndweek, and so far, things have been really good. Business Law I is definitely a work load. This week I had 7 chapters to read. Luckily, the chapters are not that long and overwhelming. I take lots of notes and there are a lot of definitions,so there is a lot of writing involved. I also have a three page paper that is due today about Contracts and the legality of them. I have decided to use the example of when I first joined the Navy and I bought my first car from a private owner. We had an oral contract stating I would buy the car from this individual, and he was supposed to give me the title to the car so I could transfer anything. Well, after not getting the documents that I needed from him, I threatened legal action and finally got it. I now know that it is always better to have a written contract as it serves as better evidence to a case.
Introduction to Literature is proving to be a very easy class. I like it because this is the first class where I do not have to study what I am reading. I am reading different types of literature, some I like and others I don't, and I get to discuss how I interpret the readings and why. I like to see in the Discussion Boards how others felt about a story compared to how I felt. It makes you look at that piece of literature in a different light. So far, I have had the pleasure to read works from Emily Dickinson, Stephen Crane, William Shakespeare, and Robert Frost. I mean, does a class get any better than that?! I can say that this term of doubling up has been pretty easy. This is my fourth time doubling my classes, and what a whirlwind that has been! Week 5 is always the hardest week for me because I have two finals to concentrate on instead of one. Usually my stress level is through the roof, and I am usually up past midnight every day that week. My hardest term was my last one. I was taking BUS 308 Statistics for Managers and PHI 445 Personal and Organizational Ethics. Just the workload alone for Statistics was extremely hard, then add the research and all the writing of Ethics made it almost unbearable. If anybody was thinking about doubling up on classes, I would advise against it with Statistics. Definitely put all of your energy to just that class alone. I worked very hard that term and very happy to report that I got an A- in Statistics and B+ in Ethics.
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Sorry for the delay everybody! A sick child plus homework due last night equals one tired mommy!! Now back to my introduction! So, after joining the Navy in 2003, a part of me had always had a feeling that I would not stay in and make it a career. I can’t tell you how many times I got told by my superior that I could stay in, do my 20 years, and the retire at 37 years old. As great as that sounded, my heart was not into it. While on my first deployment, I started taking classes online at another school that had a campus in New York and New Jersey. Good school,very expensive. At that time, it didn’t really matter to me since I had tuition assistance through the Navy. I found out I was pregnant with my daughter in2006, with just 10 months left in the Navy (and no, it was not planned!) Fast forward to 2008, I am married, with another child on the way. I was looking to find a different school to attend because I was paying so much that even with my financial aid and my GI Bill, there was still a lot of money coming out of my pocket that I could not afford. A girlfriend of mine that had also gotten out of the Navy told me about Ashford University. I was nervous about my credits transferring because my previous school was semester based, taking 12 credits at a time. I thought that it was going to be so easy taking one class every 5 weeks! Boy, was I wrong! After having one of the friendliest and understanding academic advisors helping me through the way, my credits transferred, and I was starting my first class the following week! I have been at Ashford University now for a bit over a year,and I cannot say enough amazing things about this University! I am very lucky because not only do I get a military grant for each class that I take, about six months ago, they offered book scholarships for military as well! This is absolutely amazing because I get free new books and I don’t even have to pay shipping!! Does it get better than that! So there is my introduction for everybody! I cannot express enough how amazing this school is and I cannot wait to share my journey with each of you! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and that is graduation. It will be my greatest achievement and I can’t wait to share it with you!
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Hello everyone! I am so excited to be a part of the eLearners team! I am so excited to be writing for Ashford University, even though I am filling Cajun’s shoes, which I do not think is possible! I do have a passion for education and continuing on with my education, despite what obstacles may come in your way, and believe me, I’ve had a few! So here is a bit about me. I just turned 24 years old. I have two beautiful girls, Jasmine, who is 2 years old, and Tatyana, who just turned 1. I am a veteran of the United States Navy. My husband is still active duty Navy and is stationed as a recruiter in Hartford, Connecticut. Currently, I am a stay at home mother, and even though I love the fact that I get to watch my children grow and see their every move, I am also excited about completing my degree and starting my career so I can help provide for my family and help give my children the life that I never had. I did not have a great upbringing as a child. Neither of my parents graduated high school nor went to college. My father was an Ironworker his whole life and my mother a stay at home. They had their issues that took precedent over me and my siblings. I always vowed to myself that I would never live that way. The problems that I had growing up pushed me to get my education and make something of myself. And I did just that. During my junior year of high school, we had a career fair, where there were many colleges in attendance. I was pretty down because I knew that I had no money to go to college. Then I saw a really nice booth set up with some Navy recruiters next to. My first thought was “How cute are those uniforms!” after talking for a while, I found out some great opportunities thatI could use for college, and after assuring me that I did not have to be an Olympic swimmer to join, I decided to set up a meeting with them, and the rest is history. I was given the opportunity to take an extra class after school my senior year and graduate a semester early, so that is what I did. My last day of high school was Jan. 30, 2003, and I was in boot camp Feb. 4, 2003 at the age of 17. So why did I start online education? Well, it was always the only option for me! Come back tomorrow to find out how I started my education while I was in the Navy and what led me to the best decision I have made, attending Ashford University!
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Soon, maybe even as of 4/7/09 the My Ashford University blog is no more or at least will not be authored by yours truly. As most of my readers know (you are a reader right?) I have been accepted into Bellevue University’s Master of Science in Management of Information Systems program. I will of course go for an emphasis in Project Management and I look forward to beginning classes in June of this year. Now for the good news, my blog will continue as the new My Bellevue University Experience! Same great content (well, mostly) but different school, different program, different career goals and a new soon to be announced twist on the whole experience that you won’t want to miss.
I will miss the My Ashford University blog but hopefully someone else will bear the torch for Ashford. Truthfully they are a great school and I feel truly blessed to have been a part of their program. They were the right MBA for me, under the right circumstances at exactly the right time. Their program has changed my life, changed my career, boosted my self confidence and I finally proved to myself and anyone who cares to ask that I, Cajun, am capable of a 4.0GPA even in as demanding of a series of courses as a full blown, no holds barred, MBA curriculum.
If you are considering Ashford University know this, there are bigger schools out there, more famous schools out there, cheaper schools out there, but I’ve never seen a school as well organized or with a better infrastructure oriented towards student success as Ashford. Not even my beloved Southwestern College can compare. Ashford’s student support, web services, student portal, library, etc. were 100% intuitive and really allowed me to focus on the business of learning business. I owe a lot to Ashford University and wish the school all the best in the years to come and I personally feel that there are big things in this school’s future.
My experience in online education has gone from Ashworth College, Kaplan University, Southwestern College, St. Joseph’s College of Maine and Western New Mexico University and Ashford has by far the most seamless student experience out of the bunch, I cannot recommend them enough.
But it’s time to move on and I hope you all will join me on this new adventure in the My Bellevue University Experience.
-Cajun
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