Guide to Online Education > Online Education In-Depth > Meet Real Online Students > Julian R., Master of Science in Education Technology
Name: Julian Riley
Age: 29
Marital Status: Married
Children: 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter
Current Location: Utah
Job Title: Multi-camera Director
Current School: Boise State University
Target: M.S. in Educational Technology, August 2008
Julian Riley's great sense of humor shines through after just minutes of meeting him. He is a native of Texas and a dedicated husband and father of two young children. As a multi-camera television director at KBYU in Provo, Utah, and online graduate student, he certainly leads a busy and full life.
Julian is just weeks away from receiving a master's degree in educational technology at Boise State University. "My ultimate goal is to teach [television production] at the collegiate level."
His postsecondary educational career began after he completed two years of mission work for his church. He had attended BYU-Idaho in Rexburg, Idaho and earned his bachelor's degree in a traditional on-campus setting.
For graduate school, he decided that a traditional program would not fit his life. "We didn't live close enough to a university that offered those kind of courses."
In order to obtain the type of degree that would open doors for him, Julian was faced with an important decision. He had the option of moving closer to a campus that offered the kind of graduate program he wanted, but it would require having to sell his home, relocate his family, and seek new employment (while risking the chance of not being able to find work).
Instead, Julian made the decision to enroll in the kind of program he wanted, without having to make such a huge transition. He decided to take courses online.
When researching different universities and their distance learning programs, Julian narrowed his search between three institutions. Two offered hybrid programs that required its graduate students to take both on-campus and online courses. The best fit for him was Boise State, whose program is offered wholly online and has no residency or on-campus requirement.
"I was referred by one of the professors at BYU-Idaho…I haven't stepped foot on Boise State side!" admits Julian. Though he finishing his graduate studies at Boise State, he has yet to travel the 300 miles required to step foot on its campus.
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