Marie Andreoli
Meet Marie Andreoli
Name: Marie Andreoli
Age: 56
Title: Instructor, Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Employer: Keystone College
School: Capella University
Target: Ph.D. in General Psychology, 2008
Pursuing a Ph.D. online has taught Marie a few things. She's learned that she is "pretty tough and pretty smart!" No one will be able to argue that once she has the letters "Ph.D." after her name.
Twenty years ago, Marie never would have predicted she would be teaching college psychology and enrolled in a doctoral program at the age of 56. She was raising her four kids and focused on getting dinner on the table every night.
After graduating from high school, Marie went directly into college with dreams of becoming a veterinarian. But after a year at Marywood College (today called Marywood University), in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Marie dropped out, feeling her dream was out of reach.
She married and worked various jobs, but later quit in order to stay home and be a full time mom, when her twins, Lori and Ernie, were born.
Marie and her husband had two more kids, Melanie and John, two years later. She worked part-time jobs from time to time, working as a crossing guard and cleaning houses.
Once her kids got older, Marie thought she should try going back to school. She returned to Marywood, thinking she would be an English major, since she loved reading and writing.
But a class she took with an enthusiastic psychology teacher whom Marie described as "awesome" led her to change her major to psychology and she graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in Clinical Psychology.
After Marie graduated, she was offered a graduate assistantship by Marywood, so she decided to stay on to complete a master's degree in psychology, which she received in 1998.
"On a lark," she says, she applied to Keystone College for a position in student activities. She worked for Keystone for several years, both in student activities and as director of residential life.
When Keystone needed someone to teach "Introduction to Psychology", they turned to her. She was hired as a temporary instructor, but has now been teaching for four years.
Though she is no longer considered a "temporary" instructor, her position is non-tenure track and she knows she can be let go at any time.
Marie also felt like her lack of a Ph.D. was holding her back from teaching certain courses. When she inquired about teaching social psychology, she was told that only instructors with a Ph.D. were being considered to teach it.
Marie knew it was time to look into a Ph.D. program. But her schedule was already packed. "I usually teach five classes each semester (normal load is four) and I really did not have the time or inclination to travel," she says.
It became clear to her that an online program was the way to go. She learned of Capella University through a colleague.
"One of my colleagues has her Ph.D. from Capella and I spoke with her about her experiences. She was very positive and I decided to call and speak to an admissions counselor. He was excellent and I signed up that very day."
That was back in October 2004. Marie has now completed her coursework, and is currently studying to take her comprehensive exams this summer.
In the past three years, Marie's mindset about pursuing a Ph.D. online has changed quite a bit. "When I started at Capella, I was almost afraid to tell people I was pursuing an online Ph.D. because I did not think they would take it seriously," she admits.
"When I attended my first colloquium, I realized then that all of those people could not be wrong."
Capella requires all students to attend three week-long colloquia. Students get to meet teachers and fellow learners face-to-face.
At the colloquia, Marie says, "I met many professionals who also had families and full-time careers and did not want to spend the time commuting to a brick and mortar school. They were bright, articulate, and very serious about pursuing their degrees."
