{"id":1206,"date":"2019-06-12T15:29:28","date_gmt":"2019-06-12T22:29:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/?p=1206"},"modified":"2024-07-23T14:50:20","modified_gmt":"2024-07-23T21:50:20","slug":"persistence-pays-off-for-alumna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/persistence-pays-off-for-alumna\/","title":{"rendered":"Persistence pays off for Oregon State Ecampus business \u201919 alumna"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Christy Wedding, pictured above with her kids Korbin and Kiernyn, hopes earning her business administration degree online through Oregon State Ecampus will inspire her children to earn a college education.<\/p><\/div>\n

Christy Wedding sets positive example for her children by earning degree online<\/h2>\n

Christy Wedding\u2019s first three attempts at college were not successful. But she\u2019s proof that if at first you don\u2019t succeed, try, try again.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what makes earning her degree in business administration from Oregon State University Ecampus so remarkable.<\/p>\n

After starting community college straight out of high school, Christy first put her education on pause to start a family. Twice, she tried going back to school while her children were younger \u2013 but it never quite worked out as planned.<\/p>\n

This time around, Christy is determined to finish with the flexibility and convenience of online classes and support and resources available to students like her who are balancing full-time work and raising a family.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s no easy thing to do work, school and family at the same time,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

But it is worth it.<\/p>\n

When Christy participates in commencement in June, she hopes it will have a similar effect on her children as watching her sister graduate from Oregon State had on her.<\/p>\n

Former First Lady Michelle Obama gave the commencement address in 2012 at her sister\u2019s graduation. Christy left feeling inspired to try again to earn her degree.<\/p>\n

Focused on the future<\/h3>\n

Christy lives with her husband and youngest three children in Gervais, Oregon, and works in the front office for a Kaiser Permanente health clinic in Beaverton.<\/p>\n

While she\u2019s been promoted to registration team lead, Christy says she was passed over or didn\u2019t bother applying to better paying positions because she didn\u2019t have a degree. All of the job postings she was interested in mentioned a business administration degree in the qualifications.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to go back to school in order to get there,\u201d she told herself.<\/p>\n

In considering her options, Christy learned that Oregon State University Ecampus, one of the nation\u2019s top-ranked providers of online education, offered a business administration bachelor\u2019s degree online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Dual enroll in Oregon State\u2019s Degree Partnership Program<\/h2>\n

Oregon State University\u2019s Degree Partnership Program (DPP) is your pathway to completing a university degree more quickly and more affordably. This program allows you to be jointly admitted and enrolled at Oregon State and any of our community college partner schools. There are many advantages to being a DPP student.<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

And through the Degree Partnership Program<\/a> that Oregon State has with Oregon\u2019s community colleges, she could pick up right where she left off at Chemeketa Community College in Salem and finish at Oregon State after earning an associate of science Oregon transfer degree.<\/p>\n

But first, she had to meet with a Chemeketa advisor to talk about her previous attempts at school.<\/p>\n

Christy says that in the past, she didn\u2019t always stick to her plans. That was the case with trying to go back to school in 2004 and 2006.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would decide to do something, then very quickly change my mind,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Reckoning with her past forced her to commit to her future.<\/p>\n

Christy successfully completed her community college classes and began the next step in her future \u2013 Oregon State business classes online.<\/p>\n

Oregon State\u2019s business administration program prepares Christy and her classmates for future success. It also helps her to keep pace with technology and information management systems at her current job in health care. That\u2019s made her studies interesting and relevant.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith how rapidly things are changing, who knows what job options we\u2019ll have in 10 years,\u201d she says. \u201cGetting an education is becoming even more important.\u201d<\/p>\n

“<\/span>With how rapidly things are changing, who knows what job options we\u2019ll have in 10 years. Getting an education is becoming even more important.”<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A personalized support strategy<\/h3>\n

Another difference that\u2019s led to her success this time around has been her Ecampus student success coach<\/a> Bethany Ulman. They were connected during her first term, like all other new students.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s silly,\u201d Christy thought at first.<\/p>\n

But then calculus happened, and it took three attempts for Christy to pass the class.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Christy sets a positive example for her children by not only talking the talk, but also walking the walk when it comes to earning a college education.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThe first time I failed, there were tears,\u201d she says. \u201cI considered changing my major to history.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Bethany reached out and helped her to find the right class setting to succeed. Since then, Christy has adopted a weekly check-in with Bethany to strategize. They talk about homework, the kids\u2019 sports schedules and responsibilities at work.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach conversation sets my week,\u201d Christy says.<\/p>\n

Part of Bethany\u2019s role is reminding students of what\u2019s driving them to earn their degree. For a lot of parents like Christy, that\u2019s setting an example for their children.<\/p>\n

She tells them it\u2019s OK if it takes them longer to graduate or if they have to retake a math class. \u201cThose are all acceptable, normal things,\u201d Bethany says.<\/p>\n

That’s why Christy exemplifies persistence. Because earning a degree is about more than getting a raise or promotion. It\u2019s about setting a positive example for her kids, proving to herself that she could achieve her goals and overcoming what was once a roadblock in her path to success. It\u2019s also why the impact of her accomplishment will last far beyond graduation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe degree was always more for me than the job,\u201d Christy says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/span> 4<\/span> minute read<\/span><\/span>Twice, Christy Wedding has tried going back to school while her children were younger \u2013 but it never quite worked out as planned. This time around, she’s determined to finish with the flexibility and convenience of online classes and support and resources available to students like her who are balancing full-time work and raising a family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":1207,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,6,15,3,677,8],"tags":[639,107,30,475],"class_list":["post-1206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-ecampus","category-staff","category-features","category-students-and-alumni","category-students","tag-business-and-communications","tag-college-of-business","tag-student-success","tag-student-success-coaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Christy-Wedding-Oregon-State-University-business-administration.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7BNSE-js","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1464,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/faculty-spotlight-christy-brekken\/","url_meta":{"origin":1206,"position":0},"title":"Faculty Spotlight: Engaging economics","author":"Carly Fredericks","date":"November 3, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Dr. Christy Brekken is known by applied economics peers and students as engaging, enthusiastic and caring in the classroom. 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He knows that their best chance to lead successful lives is for them to earn college degrees when the time comes. And like all good dads, Todd knows that if he\u2019s going to hold his kids\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Archives"","block_context":{"text":"Archives","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/archives\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Todd Van Hess, Oregon State Ecampus business administration graduate","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/working-parent-business-degree-todd-van-hess.jpg?fit=744%2C428&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/working-parent-business-degree-todd-van-hess.jpg?fit=744%2C428&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/working-parent-business-degree-todd-van-hess.jpg?fit=744%2C428&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/working-parent-business-degree-todd-van-hess.jpg?fit=744%2C428&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1099,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/online-student-instructor-interaction\/","url_meta":{"origin":1206,"position":3},"title":"Despite distance, online learners build lasting connections","author":"Julie Cooper","date":"January 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Oregon State University\u2019s online learners do what many say can\u2019t be done: form genuine connections in the digital classroom. 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