Student Stories

Natalie Jackson never thought that getting an online graduate degree would be for her. But now, she feels like she found her place as she pursues a master's degree, works full-time, and raises her family, all from her home in Zambia.

Originally from the Philippines, Rebecca Cowles found value in Crookston's “Small Campus, Big Degree” atmosphere and the flexibility of earning a degree online. Today, she's an Inspector Technician in the quality department at Collins Aerospace in Burnsville, Minnesota.

Peter Andrada found his way to the University of Minnesota after high school in the early '90s, but the timing wasn’t quite right. Now, years later, Andrada is thriving in his IT career and returned to earn his degree.

Kanyn Doan is a community outreach educator with Planned Parenthood in Michigan, which she explains is just the long way of saying youth sex educator.

Chanjoo Lee traveled from South Korea to Crookston to attend convocation and receive his 4.0 plaque. His first visit to campus, Lee says, “It is interesting that I can study online at the same university with the same faculty as my on-campus counterparts.”

For Carrie Bergquist, the decision to go back to school was more than preparation for the next step in a career. It was about her two daughters, a better life, and seizing an opportunity. A visit with faculty in the Business Department at the University of Minnesota Crookston was the meeting that sealed the deal for Bergquist.

Learning Technologies minor Sumaya Hanafi explained what she loves about her studies, where she hopes to take them into an innovative career, and what it was like to pivot entirely online for her education.

"Online learning allowed me the best of both worlds," says Dia Sanders, noting that she liked the ability to learn on her own schedule and being able to work while pursuing her degree.

An inspiring instructor and a natural inclination toward digital citizenship persuaded Haven Jacoby to pursue the Learning Technologies minor. What she learned was immediately applicable to her job in social media and have her skills she hadn't found anywhere else.

Kristin Seaman, Environmental Coordinator for the City of Woodbury, MN, says she chose this certificate because the courses were highly applicable to what she was currently doing in her job and what she aspires to do in the future.