{"id":699,"date":"2017-12-18T10:00:13","date_gmt":"2017-12-18T18:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/?p=699"},"modified":"2024-04-02T14:36:43","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T21:36:43","slug":"long-pursue-goals-long-takes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/long-pursue-goals-long-takes\/","title":{"rendered":"How long do you pursue your goals? As long as it takes"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"intrinsic-container intrinsic-container-16x9\" style=\"margin-bottom: 20px;\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"744\" height=\"419\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pMtQ5f3qwLg?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption video-caption-full\">\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jason Deger idolized park rangers as a kid. He knew then it was the career he wanted for himself. And even though his pursuit of his dream was sidetracked for a number of years, he finally made it happen after earning his environmental sciences degree online from Oregon State University.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>By <a title=\"All stories by Tyler Hansen\" href=\"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/author\/hansenty\/\">Tyler Hansen<\/a><\/em> <a title=\"Contact Tyler Hansen\" href=\"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/staff\/bio\/hansenty.htm\"><em class=\"icon-user osu-gray\"><br \/>\n<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>How old were you when you discovered your dream job? Many of us are still trying to figure it out.<\/p>\n<p>Not Jason Deger. He knew at a young age \u2014 thanks to camping trips with his dad in national parks \u2014 that he would someday be a park ranger. It wasn&#8217;t a matter of debate. It was a matter of time.<\/p>\n<p>And it took years.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textBox\" style=\"width: 30%; min-width: 180px;\">\n<h2>How do I use my military benefits?<\/h2>\n<p>We\u2019ll help you maximize your military education benefits so you can honor your career, family and other life commitments, no matter where in the world you\u2019re stationed.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"button\"><a title=\"Learn more about using your military tuition benefits\" href=\"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/online-degrees\/military\/tuition.htm\">Learn more<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p>Jason needed a college degree to be a full-time park ranger, but he didn&#8217;t have the financial resources to attend college when most of his peers did.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Out of high school, I went right into the U.S. Coast Guard. I served six years in the Coast Guard and received the Montgomery GI Bill to pay for college,&#8221; Jason said. &#8220;I wasn&#8217;t going to give up that dream.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>After transitioning to civilian life, he became focused on earning his degree, but the academic journey was messy. He relocated several times and took college classes at each stop, but the credits rarely traveled from one institution to the next.<\/p>\n<p>Jason realized he needed a university that would go wherever he did. He enrolled online with Oregon State University Ecampus after determining that it checked all the necessary boxes.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I wanted to get my degree from a reputable school, one that had a great sciences program that would be recognized by my future employer, and it would be nice if they worked well with veterans,&#8221; he says.<\/p>\n<p>Oregon State met all the criteria. And then Jason&#8217;s long journey paid off twofold: He completed his <a href=\"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/online-degrees\/undergraduate\/es\/\">bachelor&#8217;s degree in environmental sciences<\/a> online with OSU Ecampus, and the National Park Service offered him a full-time position as a park ranger.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I still can&#8217;t believe that graduating is actually now a reality,&#8221; he said. &#8220;This is by far the greatest achievement of my life.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\"><\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minute read<\/span><\/span>How old were you when you discovered your dream job? Many of us are still trying to figure it out. Not Jason Deger. He knew at a young age &#8211; thanks to camping trips with his dad in national parks &#8211; that he would someday be a park ranger. It wasn&#8217;t a matter of debate. It was a matter of time. And it took years. But he never wavered in his pursuit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":701,"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":[673],"tags":[146,120,40,25,24],"class_list":["post-699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-environmental-sciences","tag-military","tag-military-students","tag-online-education","tag-online-learning"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/jason-deger-featured.jpg?fit=638%2C425&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7BNSE-bh","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1319,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/environmental-sciences-online-heath-blackmon\/","url_meta":{"origin":699,"position":0},"title":"Oregon State Everywhere: \u2018My Ecampus degree gave me an edge\u2019","author":"Heath Blackmon","date":"January 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\"The quality and the rigor of courses that I took at Ecampus were on par with any in-person class and prepared me for a future in science. Even though my classes were taken at a distance, the professors built learning activities that gave me firsthand experience in analyzing and interpreting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;All Stories&quot;","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Heath Blackmon, Oregon State University Ecampus environmental sciences graduate and assistant professor at Texas A&M University","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Heath-Blackmon-744x478.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Heath-Blackmon-744x478.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Heath-Blackmon-744x478.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Heath-Blackmon-744x478.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2163,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/environmental-sciences-online-masters-kaitlin-thurman\/","url_meta":{"origin":699,"position":1},"title":"Environmental sciences online master\u2019s program yields career rewards for graduate","author":"Tracy Scott","date":"November 9, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"When she retraces the path that led to her current role as an environmental analyst for local government, Kaitlin Thurman points to four ways Oregon State Ecampus and its environmental sciences master's program helped make her dream a reality.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;All Stories&quot;","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kaitlin Thurman, a master's in environmental sciences graduate, wearing a cap and gown","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Kaitlin-Thurman-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Kaitlin-Thurman-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Kaitlin-Thurman-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Kaitlin-Thurman-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":916,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/evan-huegel\/","url_meta":{"origin":699,"position":2},"title":"Out of the park and into the woods","author":"Jenna Jarvis","date":"June 28, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cGetting my degree was by no means \u2018easy,\u2019 as it shouldn\u2019t be,\u201d says fisheries and wildlife sciences alum Evan Huegel. \u201cHowever, going to Oregon State made it an enjoyable and academically challenging experience. After graduating, it is safe to say I was fully prepared to take on whatever the real\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Archives&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Archives","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/archives\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Evan Huegel wears his work uniform and stands in front of his Department of Natural Resources law officer truck.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Evan-Huegel-Main.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Evan-Huegel-Main.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Evan-Huegel-Main.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Evan-Huegel-Main.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1048,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/environmental-sciences-online-alum-finds-support-with-on-campus-native-community\/","url_meta":{"origin":699,"position":3},"title":"Environmental sciences online alum finds support, family with on-campus Native community","author":"Heather Doherty","date":"October 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Orman Morton III felt at home at OSU's Kaku-Ixt Mana Ina Haws, building on the virtual connections he had made with the university\u2019s indigenous community as an online student.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Archives&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Archives","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/archives\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Orman hugs a Native elder whom he met at the Oregon State University Native American Longhouse Eena Haws.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Orman-Morton.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Orman-Morton.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Orman-Morton.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Orman-Morton.jpg?fit=744%2C478&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2051,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/osu-everywhere-matt-bowling\/","url_meta":{"origin":699,"position":4},"title":"Oregon State Everywhere: &#8216;Education is an investment in yourself, and you are worth it&#8217;","author":"Matt Bowling","date":"July 6, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Here's my advice to anyone who is considering going back to school: Go for it! There is no better time than now. ... Education is an investment in yourself, and you are worth it. OSU Ecampus was user-friendly, with great support.\" \u2014 Matt Bowling, Oregon State Ecampus graduate","rel":"","context":"In &quot;All Stories&quot;","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Matthew-Bowling-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Matthew-Bowling-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Matthew-Bowling-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Matthew-Bowling-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/kate-brinkley\/","url_meta":{"origin":699,"position":5},"title":"Ambition and success rank at the top of this alum&#8217;s list","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"November 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Coast Guard's Brinkley applies military discipline to classwork When you lead a busy life and have the amount of ambition Kate Brinkley does, order and prioritization rule the day. Your life becomes a giant Post-It note, with progress measured by your ability to conquer one task and move to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Archives&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Archives","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/archives\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kate Brinkley","src":"\/images\/proprietary\/students\/Kate-Brinkley-grad-gown.jpg","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}