Working full time and raising a family, Christy Underwood juggled her life obligations with attending college in the past, but she couldn’t find the school or program to accommodate her busy lifestyle until she started taking online classes at Rasmussen College.
For Underwood, a first generation college graduate, earning an Associate’s degree in Multimedia Technologies online was an opportunity to change her life direction.
“As a young adult, I had spent a lot of my time in and out of college,” said Underwood. “I would get excited about the idea and then when the work would kick in, life would take over.” At one point, Underwood, her husband, and her two sons were living without jobs or a car, accumulating debt and on the brink of losing their home. Underwood said she knew she had to turn her life around. After months of researching colleges in Virginia, where Underwood resides, she contacted Rasmussen College.
Underwood said she asked admissions representatives at each of the colleges she was considering all the same questions, but the Rasmussen College program manager’s response was refreshing.
“I had people at other colleges telling me ‘this is what you need to do,” said Underwood. “[The Rasmussen College program manager] said ‘What can we do to help you?’” Underwood said the admissions team was there for her every step of the way, helping her figure out what degree she wanted to pursue and walked her through the steps of enrollment.
“You just want a shoulder to lean on, and since I started at Rasmussen College, all I’ve had to do is call the team, and they have someone to help me,” she said. “ I live far away [from any Rasmussen College campus], and I talk to them all the time.”
With the same familiar nervousness she always felt going to college, Underwood started at Rasmussen College Online and never looked back. She excelled in her classes, never missed a Dean’s List, and graduated with a 3.9 GPA. She had finally found a flexible program that helped her balance her life, so she didn’t stop there. Underwood is currently enrolled in the Digital Design and Animation Bachelor’s degree program, taking 16 credits each semester as she continues to work full-time as a manager at a local private college.
“The online environment is perfect for me because I like my space and independence,” she said. “But I keep an organized schedule and not a day goes by that I don’t do homework.” To balance her many roles as a mother, a manager, and a wife while being a student, Underwood thrives from structure, and says she couldn’t stay afloat without her checklists and the support of her family.
“I strive each and every day to be the person my boys will admire and respect,” said Underwood. “And through Rasmussen College, I’ve been given the chance to be that person.”
Do you have a success story? We are looking for more students like Underwood to feature on our College Life Blog. If you are interested in sharing your Rasmussen College story or know someone we should talk to, e-mail us [email protected].
