The WGU alumni community now has a brand new web site. This past year, the Alumni Af- fairs department sought ideas and suggestions to improve the alumni web site. A special thank you to all of the gradu- ates who provided feedback for the new site. Some of the input included: incorporate social media, provide an area where alumni can converse, networking opportunities, add more color and graphics, as well as include more relevant information. The new community offers a richer and interactive experi- ence for community members. Graduates can find their peers, make new friends, exchange stories, provide career advice and advertise in the classifieds section. Enhanced fea- tures include customizable-profiles, a free job posting center, Facebook integration and an online chat center. Alumni can also participate in college specific network- ing groups. These groups are a place to network, learn more about professional best practices, share job search tips and find helpful resources. In addition, there is a Google maps feature so alumni can easily locate fellow graduates by geographic region. The alumni community is free of charge to all WGU alum- ni. It is a great way to stay connected and get up-to date information on everything from job opportunities to best practices for your chosen career. To join the alumni community, please visit the new site at http://alumni..wgu.edu. A few tips for navigating the website: If you’re not registered, click on “first time login” in • the upper right-hand corner. You will need your nine digit student id number. Provide a complete profile as possible so fellow • alumni and students can contact you for mentoring, job opportunities or networking events in your area. Visit the Colleges section and your respective net- • working group; i.e. business, IT, teachers, or health professions. There are additional resources found here that are unique to your group. For assistance with the new web site, please feel free • to contact Alumni Affairs at 866-895-9660 ext. 2085, or [email protected]. SPECIAL COMMENCEMENT EDITION VOLUME 4 ISSUE 1 WINTER 2010 Alumni Newsletter GRADUATE SPOTLIGHTS 2 CAREER CORNER 7 UNIVERSITY NEWS 9 ALUMNI AFFAIRS 12 INSIDE THIS ISSUE New Online Home for WGU Alumni WESTERN GOVERNORS UNIVERSITY WESTERN GOVERNORS UNIVERSITY
Transcript
The WGU alumni community now has a brand new web site. This past year, the Alumni Af-fairs department sought ideas and suggestions to improve the alumni web site. A special thank you to all of the gradu-ates who provided feedback for the new site. Some of the input included: incorporate social media, provide an area where alumni can converse, networking opportunities, add more color and graphics, as well as include more relevant information.
The new community offers a richer and interactive experi-ence for community members. Graduates can find their peers, make new friends, exchange stories, provide career advice and advertise in the classifieds section. Enhanced fea-tures include customizable-profiles, a free job posting center, Facebook integration and an online chat center. Alumni can also participate in college specific network-ing groups. These groups are a place to network, learn more about professional best practices, share job search tips and find helpful resources. In addition, there is a Google maps feature so alumni can easily locate fellow graduates by geographic region.
The alumni community is free of charge to all WGU alum-ni. It is a great way to stay connected and get up-to date information on everything from job opportunities to best practices for your chosen career.
To join the alumni community, please visit the new site at http://alumni..wgu.edu.
A few tips for navigating the website:
If you’re not registered, click on “first time login” in • the upper right-hand corner. You will need your nine digit student id number.
Provide a complete profile as possible so fellow • alumni and students can contact you for mentoring, job opportunities or networking events in your area.
Visit the Colleges section and your respective net-• working group; i.e. business, IT, teachers, or health professions. There are additional resources found here that are unique to your group.
For assistance with the new web site, please feel free • to contact Alumni Affairs at 866-895-9660 ext. 2085, or [email protected].
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gRadUate spotlights
Corrin Harris is a mother of three school-aged children living in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She has consistently had the desire to learn and to become a teacher, which led her to WGU. While she was a WGU student, she worked full time as a paraprofessional, raised her three children, and actively volunteered in her community. She praises WGU’s education model, “If it wasn’t for the competency-based approach of the WGU program, I would have never been able to finish my degree and get the job of my dreams.”
After graduation, Corrin will teach sev-enth grade in Special Education Lan-guage Arts and American History at Vir-ginia Beach Middle School. In fact, she was hired for this position even before her graduation was confirmed. She says, “WGU prepared me for the adventure I am about to embark upon and I could not be happier. This is a dream come true and a wonderful ending to lots of hard work and success at WGU. It has given me the tools I need to be a fabulous teacher, di-
rected in 21st cen-tury learning.” She also plans to pursue a Master of Educa-tion in Learning and Technology at WGU.
As for life outside of work and school, Corrin is an avid art-ist who paints murals for children. She says her hobbies are similar to those of her children: having fun outdoors, read-ing, and going to the beach. A lifelong volunteer, Corrin received the National PTA Lifetime Achievement Award and the PTA Distinguished Service Award. Corrin says, “It is an honor to be given those awards in front of my children and their peers. I am very proud to promote the importance of giving back to the community through volunteerism and to promote the importance of education to children.” Corrin finished her Bachelor of Arts in Special Education in December 2009.
Corrin HarrisViRginia beach, Va
Prior to attending WGU, Nora Sanford taught disabled children on Hawaii’s military bases. When a car accident and subsequent back injury cut her career short, Nora began searching for another career. Nora kept a posi-tive outlook. She says, “When a door closes, a window opens, and that win-dow was WGU. It provided me a safe way to access a world of opportunity without fear.”
Nora received her Bachelor of Sci-ence in Psychology from Nazareth College and a Master of Science in Educational Leadership from WGU in September 2009. She is considering her next career move, including lead-ership positions with a local school or the Department of Education. Nora
says, “Before WGU, these opportuni-ties would not have been possible.”
When reflecting on her WGU experi-ence, Nora says, “I forgot that there was more to me than just being ‘mom.’ My sense of self worth dwindled, and WGU reminded me that there is more to me than meets the eye and that I have something to offer the world.”
As a child growing up in Brooklyn, Paul Abelquist knew he wanted to work in the electrical field. Paul went to a trade school and majored in electrical installation. At 17, Paul left school to join the U.S. Navy. During his 21 years in the Navy, Paul attended many electrical schools, completed over 40 marine engineering correspondence courses, and retired as a senior chief electrician at age 38. He continued his education earning his high school diploma and an associate’s degree and became a vice president of operations for the defense in-dustry. After 22 years, Paul retired from the defense industry in 2004. He is currently employed with Union Pacific Railroad as a reliability foreman general at the Dolores Locomotive Re-pair Facility in Carson, California.
Paul says, “My purpose for completing my degree is three-fold. First, I wanted to fulfill a lifelong dream of being able to say, ‘I did it!’ Second, in business, you may be the most tech-nically capable individual in your field, but when it comes to promotions, a company is compelled to offer the job to one with ‘credentials.’ Having personally experienced this phe-nomenon, I was determined to achieve my goal. Third, now that I have my degree, I expect to advance in the manager as-sociate program at my company, contributing my talents in the mechanical department.”
Paul and his wife Nanci reside in Long Beach, California. They enjoy dining out and visiting family. Eventually, Paul plans to retire to the Midwest.
Paul Abelquistlong beach, ca
Four and a half years ago, Jonathan Shirts completed his associate’s degree at a local community college. However, Jonathan felt like he was not taking much with him. He says, “I had been a full-time student on paper, but I was never really ‘into’ school. I slid through high school, and continued that afterwards. I just didn’t care about school work.”
Jonathan found himself in an unemployment office dis-cussing his interest in becoming a teacher. Someone over-heard his conversation and mentioned Western Governors University to him. Soon he found employment and started school at WGU; it was a perfect fit for his new work sched-ule. It took Jonathan about three months to really learn how to succeed at WGU. Once he began to “ask questions,” as he puts it, he was on his way to completing his program. The skills he learned during his program helped him fin-ish two Master degrees at WGU as well.
After he graduated, he worked for nine months as a su-pervisor at a call center. However, he did not feel like he was working in an environment that cared about him as
a person, so he took a job opportunity at WGU. He was so happy with his ex-perience as a student, he believed WGU would be a great place to work.
On a personal note, Jona-than has been married for seven years. He and his wife adopted their little girl who is almost two. He grew up in a small farming town in central Utah and moved to northern Idaho during high school. He then spent two years living in Romania as a religious volunteer.
Jonathan has completed three degrees at WGU: a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science, a Masters of Education in Learn-ing and Technology, and an MBA in December 2009.
Jonathan ShirtsmURRay, Ut
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“now that I have this degree, I expect to advance in the manager associate program at my company...”
For most of his adult life, Mitch Steiner attempted to finish his undergraduate de-gree, but his career and personal life kept him too busy. Encouraged by his wife, Me-lissa, to complete his degree, Mitch found WGU. Mitch says that WGU fit his busy lifestyle and gave him the ability to direct his pace of learning. Since Mitch travels for work, studying on the road was ideal.
On his return to school, Mitch says, “I underestimated how hard it might be to get back into the academic groove. Unlike the business world, the academic world forced me to learn new skills in a differ-ent way.”
Mitch says, “My most memorable mo-ments with WGU were my weekly calls with my mentor Brianna. She encouraged me, guided me and made the transition easy.” He adds that completing his exams and tasks, and watching his completion percentage rise kept him motivated.
Mitch is a 46-year-old father to three daughters in college. He is currently the vice president of sales and marketing for a healthcare company based in Nashville, Tennessee. He is married and his wife also works in healthcare. Mitch earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Manage-
ment in August 2009. After graduation, he plans to put his education and experience to work by looking for a CEO level posi-tion in a progressive healthcare company. He also plans to enroll in the WGU MBA program.
nashVille, tnMitchell Steiner
Deborah Nakamura is married and has five children and one grandchild. She lived in Japan for 22 years and spent the last six years working for a Japanese-owned company in Seattle, Washington as a bilingual administrative assis-tant.
Deborah put her education on hold to marry and start a family. She says, “It has always been my dream to finish and get a degree.”
She chose WGU and found the road to her dream both chal-lenging and rewarding. She says, “When WGU planned to do away with their BS in Management Accounting degree and encouraged students to switch to the BS in Accounting program, I stubbornly chose to stay, feeling like it would be admitting defeat if I switched. Then our family had a medical crisis involving my youngest daughter that left me drained and unable to pass required tests. My mentor
wisely suggested a leave of absence and encouraged
me to come back after my family situation was stable. I am so thankful for that ad-vice - the renewed energy after a leave of absence pro-pelled me to finish.”
Deborah earned her Bach-elor of Science in Account-ing in August 2009. She plans to become a certified public accountant. In order to fulfill her dreams, she will continue her education. She says, “If WGU had a Master of Accounting program I would have definitely returned for it.” She is currently enrolled at Liberty University in their online master of accounting program.
Deborah Nakamura seattle, Wa
“My most memorable moments with WGU were my weekly calls
with my mentor, Brianna”
- Mitchell Steiner
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gRadUate spotlights
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Donna Hebert spent nine years in manufacturing technol-ogy as an electro-mechanical engineer, two years in hotel management, and four years in retail management while raising 26 children. She also volunteers with Hospice of In-diana, the South Carolina Guardian Ad Litem program for children, and Habitat for Humanity.
After recovering from her husband’s early death from can-cer, Donna found it difficult to find a fulfilling job with-out an undergraduate degree. She says, “The world had changed and I had not kept up. Where does a middle-aged widow who needs to work go for an education?” Donna then found Western Governors University. She appreciated WGU’s competency-based model, endorsements and af-fordable tuition. Initially, Donna was apprehensive about attending a virtual school, but the curriculum and mentors
quickly allayed her fears. She set a personal goal to earn her bachelor degree in less than two years. While completing her degree program, Donna ex-perienced some challenges in her life. Her computer crashed twice, her father passed away, and she was in a severe car acci-dent. She says her mentor, Chafi Acero, rallied WGU technical support, the IT mentors, and other community advisors to keep her on track. She says, “I have never known such sup-port and kindness! I learned how corporate teamwork and customer support builds commitment to a company while promoting self-confidence and self-reliance. Now, thanks to WGU, I have the tools to manifest my dreams!” Donna completed her Bachelor of Science in Business Manage-ment in December 2009.
Donna Herbertlake paRk, fl
Aaron Shamy is an X Games gold medalist rock climber who has climbed mountains in some of the most remote places in the world. He has run 100 miles without stopping in “The Wasatch 100” and last year he circumnavigated Lake Tahoe on a bicycle. Aaron is a dedicated athlete and he approached his education at WGU with the same drive to succeed.
Aaron says, “The greatest challenge of my life came during my second semester at WGU when my 3-year-old son Aus-tin was diagnosed with leukemia.” Though school took a back seat as Aaron cared for his son, he never relented in the pursuit of his degree. In fact, he worked late into the night at his son’s hospital bedside writing papers and studying for tests. Presently, Austin is in remission and Aaron earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Management from WGU.
Aaron is an entrepreneur in Eagle Mountain, Utah. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Morgan, and has two daughters, Aisling and Arianna, in addition to Austin. Aaron credits his family’s unwavering support for encouraging him to complete his degree. He is currently planning to compete in a 2010 Ironman triathlon, to climb the highest summit on each continent, and to swim the English Channel. By earning his degree, Aaron is fulfilling his lifelong professional dream of becoming a teacher for his church.
Aaron Shamyeagle moUntain, Ut
“now, thanks to WGU, I have the tools to manifest my dreams!”
When many of her peers were considering retirement, Lauren Strand decided to head back to school and earn her Master of Education in Learning and Technology. Lau-ren took three and a half years to complete her degree at WGU due to family challenges. Her mentor and classmates did not let her quit. When she was faced with a challenge, they rallied behind her and found a solution.
Throughout her time at WGU, Lauren’s mentor called her frequently and gave her constant support, breaking down seemingly insurmountable tasks into smaller chunks that she accomplished. She also met another WGU student on-line who (via frequent Skype sessions) encouraged her, cheered her on, and let her know that she could reach her goal of crossing the finish line and graduating before she turned 60.
Lauren currently holds two teaching positions. She works as an ESOL teacher at the Rockwood School District and an education specialist for an online community for home-schooling families.
Lauren sees infinite possibilities for integrating technol-ogy and education in her work. Her coursework inspired her to start a digital storytelling project for English lan-guage learners coming to the United States. This project
ultimately became her capstone project.
One month after her 60th birthday, in August 2009, Lauren earned her de-gree. Her journey at WGU is proof that with dedi-cation and support it is never too late to realize a dream.
Christy Raby came to WGU in 2005 because of its innova-tive approach to education and cutting edge technology. While earning her degree, Christy, a single mom of three children, faced several significant life challenges. She quickly realized that “life didn’t stop just because I was in school. I really had to work to balance it all.”
As Christy approached graduation, she lost her job as a community support specialist in the mental health field due to restructuring at the state level. She had to find an-other position to support her family. Within two weeks of graduation, she was hired as a teacher with the Swain County Family Resource Center in the Parents as Teachers and Strengthening Families programs. On weekends, she also works as a program manager for Swain/Qualla Safe, a domestic violence shelter which serves her community. Christy also finds time to volunteer with Mountain Media-tion where she serves as a mediator and an advisory board member and with the Museum of the Cherokee Indian.
Christy is a passionate learner who enjoyed WGU and the challenge of actively applying her skills and demonstrating her knowledge. Her favorite aspect of WGU is the relation-ships she developed with her mentors who supported her and kept her focused on her goals. The highlight of Christy’s
time at WGU came in Oc-tober 2009 when she re-ceived a joyous call from her mentor, Stephanie Thomas, telling her that she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Social Science Education.
Christy plans to continue her education and even-tually pursue a master’s degree. However, currently she is focused on supporting her son as he begins his college career in Forestry. Since completing her degree, Christy is looking forward to spend-ing more time with her family and her hobbies which in-clude beadwork, writing and reading. As a published poet, Christy says, “Each day is a gift. You never know what it holds, or the lessons you will learn from it. You just have to take life as it comes, smile and deal with whatever it hands you. After all life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to “dance in the rain.”
Christy RabyfRanklin, nc
Lauren StrandchesteRfield, mo
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caReeR coRneR
By now we have all heard that networking is the key to a suc-cessful job search – “it is not what you know but who you know.” Informational interviewing is a powerful (and underutilized) networking tool that can jumpstart your career.
Why should I conduct an informational interview?
Information interviews allow you to:
• Learn more about an organization, their needs and the requirements for a particular job
• Generate job leads
• Network with decision makers
• Explore your career options and clarify your goals
• Build confidence in yourself, your job search process and your interview skills
• Demonstrate professionalism to prospective em- ployers.
• Take control of your job search by interviewing an employer before you even apply for the job!
How do I set up and conduct an informational interview?
Start by identifying who you want to interview. Then ask fam-ily, friends, alumni, alumni mentors, and others in your immedi-ate network if they know of anyone they can put you in touch with. Become a member of the WGU Alumni Community at http://alumni.wgu.edu to locate alumni who might be able to assist you. Don’t forget to connect with people on LinkedIn, Fa-cebook and other social networking sites (remember there are WGU alumni groups on LinkedIn and Facebook).
Next , send a brief email to the person you want to interview ex-plaining your background, career goals, interests and what you hope to gain from the interview. Make sure you state clearly that you are seeking information – not a job. Request a 20-30 minute appointment at their workplace since this will be more conve-nient for your interviewee and also give you a better feel for the job and organization.
Prepare for your informational interview as you would for a job interview. Research the person you will be interviewing, their profession and their company. This advanced research shows the interviewee that you are professional and that you respect their time. It also allows you to focus on acquiring information that is not readily available through web sites and company bro-chures. Show up to your appointment professionally dressed and on time. It is a good idea to write your questions down and bring them in a professional looking notebook or portfolio. End the interview by thanking the interviewee for their time and asking if there are other people they suggest you talk to. This is a great way to grow your professional network.
What should I do after the informational interview?
Build your professional relationship by sending a thank you email within 24 hours of your interview. It never hurts to send a brief hand written note in addition to your email thanking the person for their time and briefly describing what you learned from the interview. See if your interviewee is on LinkedIn and invite them to join your network. In addition, send periodic up-dates on your career progress and be sure to let them know if you apply for a position with their company.
If you have questions about informational interviewing or would like assistance with your job search, please contact WGU Career Services at [email protected].
Informational Interviews an impoRtant tool foR caReeR sUccess
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Education Job Fair Listings for Spring 2010Education job fairs are a great opportunity for new and experienced teachers and administrators to network and inter-view with school and hiring managers. Below is a partial list of education job fairs occurring around the country and online during Spring 2010. WGU is not affiliated with these fairs. For more information on eligibility requirements, reg-istration, location, dates, and times, please refer to the web site listed.
Arizona May 15 Glendale, AZ http://www.arizonaeducationjobs.com/azfairs.html
California –NorthernSouthern
April 24May 1
Costa Mesa, CADublin, CA http://www.caeelink.org/fairs.htm
Colorado/Wyoming Various Various http://careerservices.colorado.edu/CommonFiles/PDFs/students/ALL2010EDUCATIONFAIRSLIST.pdf
Florida TBA TBA http://www.teachinflorida.comGeorgia Various Various http://www.teachgeorgia.org/jobFairs.aspxIllinois Various Various http://iascus.org/Events/events.aspIndiana March 13 Highland, IN http://www.nwiesc.k12.in.usKentucky April 13 Lexington, KY http://www.uky.edu/CareerCenter
Mid Atlantic Various DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, VA, WV http://www.maeeonline.org/pages/jobfair.aspx
Missouri March 23 Columbia, MO http://education.missouri.edu/TDP/CAPS/mojoe_information.php
Montana April 25 - 26 Missoula, MT http://life.umt.edu/careerNorth Carolina Various Various http://www.ncpublicschools.org/calendarOregon April 6 Portland, OR http://www.teachoregon.comSouth Carolina Various Various http://cerra.org/careers/jobfairs.htmlTexas TBA TBA http://www.taeeweb.orgTexas Gulf Coast June 14 - 15 Houston, TX http://www.esc4.net/docs/150-JobFairOnlineBrochure.pdfUtahNorthernSouthern
Virginia Various Various http://www.fcps.edu/DHR/applicants/recruitevents.htm
Washington March 16April 15
Spokane, WATacoma, WA http://www.wspa.net
as an alumni of Western governors University, we are proud to offer you access to optimalResume, the gold standard in online resume technology. Used by hundreds of universities across the country and across the globe, optimalResume guides stu-dents and alumni in the resume process from content creation to online publication.
you can draft your resume in just a few short minutes with op-timalResume’s comprehensive software, which includes con-tent examples for each section and format assistance, all on a 24/7 basis. once a resume has been composed and format-ted, it is immediately generated in four formats: Rich text, .pdf,
plain text, and html (an interactive resume website). you can then send your draft directly to your alumni mentor through a unique Review center to ensure resume quality.
once a resume has been created and filled with content, you can pick from thousands of different combinations of resume styles to find the right look for your resume.
OptimalResume Builder Available to WGU Alumni for FREEFor a list of online job fairs, please see: http://www.educationjobfairs.com/
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To learn more, visit:
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To support the American Red Cross re-lief effort in Haiti, Western Governors University will match donations from students, staff, and alumni up to a total of $50,000. Any donation, regardless of amount, is appreciated. Donations are also tax deductible and a receipt is available at the time of donating.
The Western Governors University community has already donated more than $13,500 to support the American Red Cross relief effort in Haiti. With the WGU match, the WGU community has committed $27,200 to the Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund.
It’s not too late to double the impact of your donation.
WGU is still accepting donations. Our staff, student body, and alumni com-prise about 20,000 individuals. If just 2,000 people contribute an average of $25 each, we’ll reach our $50,000 target and the university’s matching amount will bring the total to $100,000!
You can make your contribution using Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, or PayPal account via a secure PayPal website at http://www.wgu.edu/about_WGU/haiti.
Donations via check can be sent to the address below and made out to “Ameri-can Red Cross.”
If you have already donated to any Haiti relief effort, your donation can count toward WGU’s match. Just send in a re-ceipt or other documentation of your contribution.
Haiti Relief CampaignWgU Will match donations Up to a total of $50,000
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Send printed proof of donation to:
WGU Haiti Relief Campaign 4001 South 700 East, Suite 700
Salt Lake City, UT 84107 Or send a scanned proof of donation to:
EnHAnCE YOUR CAREER OPPORTUnITIES In OnE OF THE FASTEST GROWInG SOCIAL nETWORkS AnD COnnECT WITH LIkE-MInDED PROFESSIOnALS In THE WGU ALUMnI LInkEDIn GROUP - WWW.LInkEDIn.COM
Governor Mitchell E. Daniels of Indiana has joined the West-ern Governors University Board of Trustees. Daniels was unanimously elected to WGU’s governing board.
“WGU was conceived by a bipartisan group of governors, and the continuing involvement of governors has been integral to our growth and development throughout the years,” said WGU President, Dr. Robert Mendenhall. “With his commit-ment to education and education reform, Governor Daniels will make a vital contribution to our board during this time of tremendous growth. We welcome him to our board and look forward to working with him.”
“I hate to admit how little I knew about WGU until recently. I’ve become very excited about this innovative, high-quality, affordable educational offering and look forward to bringing this option to the attention of more Hoosier students,” said Daniels.
In 2009, a cooperative agreement was reached between WGU and Ivy Tech Community College that waives the WGU application fee for Ivy Tech graduates and provides a tuition discount and credit transferability. The agreement also cre-ates a limited number of scholarships for Ivy Tech students to continue their education through WGU.
Elected in 2004, Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. is the 49th Governor of Indiana. Prior to running for his first elected office, Gov-ernor Daniels spent 15 years in the private sector serving as
an executive at Eli Lilly and Company and CEO of the Hudson Institute. He also served as chief of staff to Senator Richard Lugar, senior advisor to President Ronald Reagan, and direc-tor of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under President George W. Bush. Governor Daniels was re-elected in 2008 to a second and final term, receiving more votes than any candidate for any public office in the state’s history.
Since its inception in 1997, WGU has grown into a national in-stitution, serving more than 17,000 students in all 50 states. At last count, about 240 Indiana students were enrolled.
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels Elected to Western Governors University Board of Trustees
daniels joins goVeRnoR bill RitteR of coloRado as the second sitting goVeRnoR appointed to the UniVeRsity’s goVeRning boaRd
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“With his commitment to education and education reform, Governor Daniels will make
a vital contribution to our board during this time of tremendous growth. ”
We are real people: daughters, sons, wives, husbands, mothers, fathers and employees. But most of all, we are devoted WGU students that have the ability to balance our personal and work lives while overcoming situa-tions along our journey to become a college graduate. We believe that it is important to strive for success in all that we do and persevere through the hard times in order to achieve success no matter what struggles we face along the way. Life is full of choices, and we have made our choice; to invest in a better lifestyle and make our dreams come true.
Every student at Western Governors University has a story, a reason for enrolling in the Teachers College, and will have a story of events along the way. Many ob-stacles can arise along the college pathway to gradua-tion. Many people will be challenged by births, deaths, job losses, new employment and many other things. With WGU being competency-based and a work-at-your-own-schedule university, I have been able to be a stay at home mom while attending WGU and maintain-ing an 80% SAP. I perform all my school work at night time, usually until the early morning hours, when my daughter is asleep. The next morning I start a new day with the same responsibility of taking care of her and performing all home activities that come with being a stay at home mom and wife. This is a schedule that I’ve followed for three years, and yes, it can be hard
and tiresome, but I know that it will pay off in the end when I have a college education to support my family and fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming a teacher. A fellow WGU student is a working father who must find spare time to complete his tasks between his family and work. So while many of us use lunch breaks as a time to relax and enjoy a meal, he spends his 30-minute lunch break eating a sandwich while completing tasks. There are many issues that each of us have faced and will continue to face as we travel along this journey, but it is important to stay devoted and focused to the over-all goal of graduating with a college education. KDP is a chapter of fellow students full of encouragement and support for all their members throughout the journey.
As a KDP member we must obtain an 80% cumulative SAP. This may sound hard as a busy adult, but that is why it is an HONOR to be a member of KDP. Although we have all obtained our 80% SAP and continue to fulfill tasks, we KDP members are also normal people with normal lives. The only difference is that we are part of an honor society that will always support us as we progress through our professional lives.
By Kendra Henson, Historian of WGU KDP
The Teachers College is chartering Western Governors University’s first honor society with Kappa Delta Pi (KDP). This is a prestigious honor society for educators with roots in the early 1900s. With almost 600 active chapters, Kappa Delta Pi is dedicated to the ideals of Fidelity to Hu-manity, Service, Science, and Toil. Membership is open to college students, new teachers, experienced teachers and even retired teachers. The society promotes excellence and advancement in scholarship, leadership and service. WGU students, alumni and faculty are welcome to ap-ply for membership. For more information, please go to: http://sites.google.com/site/wgukdp/
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alUmni affaiRs
As an online university, WGU has graduates and students scattered across the nation. Some even live outside the United States. It’s amazing that thousands of miles separate many of us, while oth-ers might find a student or graduate right around the corner from where they live. The common bonds we share however are WGU and our determination. You’ll find WGU graduates and students liv-ing in the big city, in a small rural farming community, stationed at a military base overseas, or on a small tropical island.
WGU is currently promoting its geographic diversity by holding a small contest. We are looking for alumni and students to take a pic-ture next to a landmark (Eg: White House, Empire State Building, Golden Gate Bridge, etc) in their WGU gear. If you’re on vacation or traveling for business, take the opportunity to grab a snapshot, as well. Please email your picture to [email protected] and we will post it on the web site for graduates and students to vote for the best pic-ture. The winner will receive a $100 gift card. Show your WGU pride no matter where you are!
