Angel Morgan

Meet Angel Morgan

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

There are many reasons for a young wife and mother of three to decide not to return to school. Not one of them was good enough for Angel.

She conquered her doubts, enrolled in school online, and with the support of her family, persevered. Two years later, the 27-year old is now a graduate of Ohio Dominican University. She earned her bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice in December 2006. And she did it while working full-time.

The very idea of returning to school was daunting. Full-time employment as an executive secretary at a state licensing agency was demanding enough. Add to that the care of three children now aged 5 years, 3 years, and 8 months and it is easy to see that Angel's plate was already full.

She realized that adding the challenges of reading textbooks, writing papers and preparing for exams would require superhuman juggling skills. But she had to push aside questions of who would give the baths, brush the teeth, read the stories, and fold the laundry. To make sure that this time she finished what she started, she had to stay focused on the end goal.

"I'm an overachiever. I knew it would get done," she recalls. "I knew it would be harder later."

She also knew that for her second time around in college, the plusses would outweigh the minuses in the long run. This time she was setting an example.

"I value education, and have expectations that my children will continue into higher education," she affirms. "How could I expect something of them that I myself did not complete?"

Angel began college as a technical theater major at Ashland University. But, like many recent high school graduates she was still finding her way. After a year of study, which included a term as president of the Thespian Club and an internship, she realized that life in the theater would not fit into her plans to have a family.

"I realized that while I loved the theater, I did not want to live in the world I was learning from," Angel says. "It was very nomadic. I made the decision to leave the program."

She opted to leave school altogether rather than experiment with a different major. "I didn't want to waste money trying to figure out what I wanted to do," she says.

Instead she decided to wait tables and do some soul searching. Angel always knew that she wanted to return to school, but did not know what to study. She kept her ears open and waited for the right opportunity to come along.

"I tried DeVry University," she remembers. "[I'd] heard it could be lucrative. But it wasn't for me."

Her motivation to attend university never waned; however her practical nature dictated that she conserve two valuable resources—time and money.

She banked on utilizing the economical community college system to get a jump start on her higher education before ultimately enrolling at a 4-year university. She found herself at Columbus State University. There she completed almost all of her general education requirements.

By this time she was a mother and her needs had changed. Her education couldn't take a back seat, but neither could her family.

"I had a daughter and I wanted to be able to say to her that I did something to improve our lives," she says. "I wanted to be able to say that I was satisfied with what I did every day, so that she would do what made her happy, no matter how difficult it seemed."

She researched her options and believed it would all work out.

"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."

"I'd give myself ultimatums," she remembers. "I have to stay up to do this now or I'll miss the soccer game on Saturday," she told herself.

Strict privacy requirements at her job prevented her from taking work home. But she did take school to work.

"It wasn't rare for me to be sitting at a lunch table reading Camus or writing a paper," she says with a smile.

Though there were some drawbacks to attending school online, the flexibility made it worthwhile. And surprisingly, she found that the rapport she developed with the students and faculty was satisfying.

"There are professors that I had the pleasure of working with for a number of courses, but have never met. The relationship we have forged is purely in cyber cafes and discussion boards," she reports.

"You learn to listen to people through their written words, which is incredibly interesting to me. You actually develop a relationship that does not require face-to-face interaction."

At Ohio Dominican, a semester consists of two terms. Sometimes she would take two classes one term and one class the next term to maintain her full-time status. Before long she grew to appreciate the online experience and recognize an unexpected benefit of discussion boards.

"With not having to face your audience, I think that it is easier to speak freely and to not be intimidated by the opinions opposite of your own," notes Angel.

"This format of meeting made me a great critical thinker, as it allowed me to contemplate the words in front of me. It was lasting; the words don't disappear with the next set of thoughts. They remain for reflection."

As for group meetings, they were "few and far between."

One novel format was a welcome change from the standard discussion board. "In one class I had the opportunity to have phone conferences every week. This was useful because it gave us all the opportunity to ask more questions of one another and the professor and to work off the thoughts of our fellow classmates."

As with many e-learners, Angel wasn't able to actually put a face with a name until the very end of her college experience.

"I had never met my advisor until the night of my graduation," she says. "I asked someone to point her out to me, and purposely asked her to hood and robe me. She had no idea who I was until I whispered it to her when she was hooding me. We both took the moment to embrace after going through so much together and having never met."

Her degree immediately impacted her plans.

"It gave my career direction. I would like to advocate for the mentally retarded population that is affected by the criminal justice system. There is a definite need that exists, and now I have a focus."

She plans to attend law school in the future. "I have big dreams; big goals. I look forward to continuing my education."

Without distance education, she says, "I don't know what I would have done, honestly. This program gave me the opportunity to succeed in my goals and still allowed me to take care of my family."

To others who may be contemplating returning to school, or have recently started on the path to a degree, Angel has one piece of advice.

"Commit yourself fully. I've watched a lot of people in the online program start and not finish. You really need to put the time in as you would in a traditional classroom."

"Life is not about quitting; things that are important to you are worth fighting for."