Guide to Online Education > Online Education In-Depth > Meet Real Online Students > Chris, B.A. in Liberal Studies
Name: Christina Hughes
Age: 56
Marital Status: Widowed
Children: A son, 31, and a daughter, 29
School: University of Oklahoma
Target: Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies, 2005
Another aspect was there was a health crisis in my family. My husband was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor and he needed my care. I was able to continue working, be at home with him, and work at home on my degree.
He died before I finished my degree. But it gave me a purpose and helped me to keep on going through the hardest time of my life. I was so fortunate to have my online degree program to keep me going. And I kept thinking of how proud he would be of me.
Why did you select Liberal Arts as a disclipline?
Liberal Studies is a knowledge-based field of study that gives you a broad, integrated education instead of a specific, skill-based education. It is interdisciplinary in nature and teaches one to think integrally.
I needed this kind of education because I tend to be a very curious person with many interests and an avid reader on a number of subjects; I needed to be intellectually engaged in a number of ways. A liberal studies degree provides this kind of education.
I write and edit publications for a university working for more than 50 departments. I knew this degree would enhance my ability to research and write about education, but also, I wanted to broaden my knowledge base and grow intellectually.
What has been your favorite course so far and why?
I have enjoyed them all. I was amazed by a course called “Road Trip of the Mind”. I liked the way it drew on a variety of information, not only from writings but from multimedia (film, Web, and music).
The course is powerful because it contains an analysis of how images and narratives influence us, and the way we make and manage meaning. You look at your life experience in this class and see it in new ways. This course helped me to understand how my beliefs and the beliefs of others are shaped. In this course I studied cultures so different from my own. It broadened the way I look at the world.
This was truly an interdisciplinary course where I was learning about ethics, psychology, culture and sociology, literature, film, history, media and so much more (all interwoven).
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