Bartels balances outside responsibilities with online graduate school

Melissa BartelsI am currently a Clarion Online graduate student. My life is very busy. I'm a 40-plus-year-old, who has been married for 15 years, raising two young children, holding a part-time job and completing a lot of volunteering.

I knew that I needed to go back to school so that I could get back into the teaching field, but was not sure how I was going to make that happen. When I saw that Clarion Online offered the degree that I was interested in, I thought, "This is the way it can happen."

I don't live close to Clarion, nor do I have extra time to spend at an actual brick and mortar classroom. I wasn't sure how I'd do as an online student, but it has been a very good experience for me. I tell anyone who asks, it's exactly like college except for the fact that you don't have to go to class.

I have real professors, classmates, course requirements, textbooks, quizzes, papers, fieldwork and finals. I can work on it at my own convenience in my own home. It's not an easy way out. It is demanding. You have to be self-motivated and fairly organized, but it works! I plan to graduate this May 2018 (two-and-a-half years after I began).

Last Updated 3/4/20