Guide to Online Education > Online Education In-Depth > Meet Real Online Students > Don, B.S. in Criminal Justice
After Don attended Tarrant County College and earned his undergraduate certificate of completion in computer information systems with an emphasis in network administration, he decided to take his education a step further.
Name: Don Palmer
Age: 28
Marital Status: Married
Current Location: Texas
Advice to Online Students: "Student support is the single most important aspect of online learning... so make sure that the school you choose has excellent student support."
School: Southwestern College
Target: B.S. in Criminal Justice, 2006
"At the time I was looking for a career change from information technology and I thought a Criminal Justice degree would help me do that. As it turns out, I was right," says Don, 28, of Texas, who graduated from Ashworth College with an Associate of Science in Criminal Justice.
Currently, he is a federal law enforcement officer, holding the rank of staff sergeant, in which he supervises others.
In November, he will receive his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Southwestern College, a liberal arts college located in Winfield, Kansas.
We talked to Don about striking a balance between work and school, and why distance learning was the right choice for him.
Why did you decide to go with distance learning?
Initially I didn't think that I would be able to go back to school because of the screwy work schedule I had. Working in law enforcement is a 24/7/365 job in which I may have to work any time, day, night, holiday, weekend, etc. It would be impossible for me to maintain my job and go to school on campus.
I discovered a book by Dr. John Bear called "Bear's Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning" and it really opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibilities.
Without the ability to earn my degree via distance learning, I don't think I could have done it. I chose distance learning because of necessity.
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