{"id":2371,"date":"2023-09-27T10:32:17","date_gmt":"2023-09-27T17:32:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/?p=2371"},"modified":"2026-05-07T16:06:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T23:06:28","slug":"finding-yourself-in-your-degree-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/finding-yourself-in-your-degree-online\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding yourself while finishing your degree online"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

How a longtime advocate in the LGBTQI+ community went on to earn her bachelor\u2019s degree in her 50s online with Oregon State<\/h2>\n

At 54, Michelle Harris finally knows what she wants to be when she grows up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m an advocate,\u201d Harris says. \u201cThat\u2019s who I am.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Growing up as a member of the LGBTQI+ community, Harris understood the power of organizing from an early age.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI got involved, back in the \u201990s, with the <\/span>Imperial Sovereign Rose Court of Oregon<\/span><\/a>, which is the oldest LGBTQI+ nonprofit in Oregon, and I met people who were like me \u2014\u00a0outcasts and misfits,\u201d she says with a laugh. \u201cWe raised money for charity and we were very outspoken.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Harris credits these early experiences with helping to shape her advocacy and as one pillar in her eventual decision to pursue a degree in <\/span>women, gender and sexuality studies<\/span><\/a> online with Oregon State University.<\/span><\/p>\n

But she also had another important point of inspiration \u2014 working in healthcare.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a patient registration representative at a clinic in Portland, Harris saw firsthand how registration systems weren\u2019t designed for gender-nonconforming people. Harris felt zero hesitation in helping patients update their photo and gender identity if they presented differently than their assigned sex at birth, but other representatives weren\u2019t as sure.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was met with a lot of resistance,\u201d Harris recalls about the initial pushback she received from other care advocates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Harris spent significant time explaining the importance of using accurate names and pronouns, and over time, she became a go-to person for questions from other care advocates. With each shift toward greater empathy for transgender and nonbinary patients, Harris knew she was positively impacting the clinic\u2019s ability to provide inclusive care.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut I didn\u2019t have a degree at the time,\u201d she says, \u201cso they wouldn\u2019t promote me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Harris knew going back to school would be challenging \u2014 she worked full-time and shared caretaking responsibilities for her father. She needed a degree program with the training and accreditation she sought, but at a distance and on a flexible schedule<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This led her to <\/span>Oregon State Ecampus<\/span><\/a>, where she enrolled in the women, gender and sexuality studies online bachelor\u2019s degree program in 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, it was scary,\u201d Harris says about going back to school in her 50s. \u201cI definitely won’t say that it wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But with Ecampus, Harris knew she was on the right track.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt just encompassed everything I needed. I could balance everything,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

As her courses progressed, Harris found that her age was often an asset. In online discussions, she could share a much-appreciated perspective and personal history that helped bring past eras to life for a younger generation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sharing personal stories wasn\u2019t always easy, but Harris received many messages of support and gratitude from her Oregon State classmates and professors. She also stressed how much she learned from younger students and other perspectives in her online classes \u2014 opening her mind to new ideas and ways of thinking.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the classes in women, gender, and sexuality studies talk about intersectionality. How can I learn from you \u2014\u00a0about your perspective, your life, your culture and your values?\u201d Harris explains. \u201cAnd then taking my life and my values into account \u2014 how can we meet at that intersection? And recognize that we’re all here to do the same things. We\u2019re all here to improve our lives.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Harris definitely worked hard to improve her own.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While helping to care for her father and balancing a full course load, she also took a position as a student ambassador for Ecampus to help other online students navigate the admissions process and the challenges of learning online.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn’t a computer person at all when I first started this three years ago, so I felt like I was able to say \u2014 if I can do this, pretty much anybody can do this,\u201d Harris says.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the main thing she always tried to impress upon online students who reached out to her as an ambassador?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not alone.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s connecting with <\/span>student ambassadors<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>success coaches<\/span><\/a> or <\/span>seeking out clubs<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>other activities<\/span><\/a> \u2014 there are many opportunities to make connections.<\/span><\/p>\n

Harris is now an Oregon State graduate, and whether she works with students or in a healthcare setting again \u2014 her time at Oregon State University has solidified for her that her career will be in support and advocacy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn a way,\u201d Harris says, \u201cI think I\u2019m lucky. I’m happy that I waited until I was in my 50s to finally finish my degree. Because now I know what I wanna be when I grow up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Oregon State offers a diverse range of degree programs, certificates and microcredentials online. Explore options to find the program that’s right for your learning and career goals.<\/em><\/p>\n

Explore 100+ programs<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/span> 3<\/span> minute read<\/span><\/span>Growing up as a member of the LGBTQI+ community, Michelle Harris understood the power of organizing from an early age. She credits these early experiences with helping to shape her advocacy and as one pillar in her eventual decision to pursue a degree in women, gender and sexuality studies online with Oregon State.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":2372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_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":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1,6,3,677,8],"tags":[75,641],"class_list":["post-2371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-ecampus","category-features","category-students-and-alumni","category-students","tag-college-of-liberal-arts","tag-languages-and-liberal-arts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Michelle-Harris-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7BNSE-Cf","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1298,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/online-master-of-public-health-student\/","url_meta":{"origin":2371,"position":0},"title":"Online Master of Public Health program helps health systems administrator advance his career","author":"Becky Barrett","date":"December 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Zach Harris can see himself working in the executive-level management of a healthcare system. 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