Guide to Online Education > Online Education In-Depth > Meet Real Online Students > Angel, B.A. in Criminal Justice
Name: Angel Morgan
Age: 27
Marital Status: Married
Kids: 5 years, 3 years, and 8 months old
Future Goal: Attend law school
School: Ohio Dominican University
Target: B.A. in Criminal Justice, December 2006
"I selected Ohio Dominican's online program because of the convenience," she says candidly.
"And I knew this was one of the few ways that I would be able to complete a degree since I am a working adult with a family now."
She immediately found the online environment very different than a traditional setting.
"I had to devote myself to my studies to ensure I was meeting timelines and was on top of my studies. This wasn't easy," she says frankly.
"With the traditional classroom, you have someone guiding you and keeping you on task; you have classmates who are going through the same thing, and you know the people, so there is accountability. Online you are only accountable to yourself."
"Balancing being a mommy, a wife, and an employee with the demanding course requirements," she says was the biggest challenge.
"I'd be an emotional mess because I had to miss something really important," she says of her early efforts to combine her three roles. Later she learned to make it work.
"There were so many times that I could've said, ‘I'm tired. I just want to go to bed,'" she says of the fatigue still fresh in her memory. "Often times I would not sleep until 11 or 12 at night after putting the kids to bed at 8."
Her husband, who is only 20 units shy of a degree himself, was understanding of her situation and helped when he could. "We went through my schedule together. He understood when papers were due."
But, he often worked nights, so Angel shouldered the responsibilities of the children's evening routine by herself. "I'd be in my pajamas going to school after everyone went to bed."
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