AIU Graduate Profile | Ashley

When you're a mom of three and you're constantly moving due to your husband's work, the thought of attaining your bachelor's degree in-person isn't an appealing possibility. Attending school online, however, made it not only possible for Ashley L. to complete her bachelor's degree but also attain her master's.

"I had started my bachelor's degree nine years prior, but I had just had my son and life was crazy," said Ashley. "I was just 20. I had to stop school and take care of life. I re-pursued my degree with AIU because I had just had my third son, and I knew I was done having babies. I knew our routine and knew I had time, space and help to go back to school."

Most importantly, AIU met Ashley where she was at.

"AIU fit everything I needed it to. I was a stay-at-home mom with three small boys, one who was at school. I had the busy hours of the day and then the sporadic hours of napping/not napping with my babies," said Ashley. "We were moving around with my husband's job, and I just knew something online would be a better fit for me."

During her bachelor's degree, Ashley's family moved four different times to three different states, due to her husband's job in aviation.

"My boys and I were in Vegas during the pandemic while my husband was in Houston," she said. "I would've lost motivation if it weren't for AIU. AIU was the most stable thing I had going on in my life then."

While some can't imagine how an online school can provide the same support as a brick-and-mortar campus, Ashley had no trouble jumping right into her degree.

"Everything was very easy to use - the books online, tutoring and communication with the professors - the whole process made going to school just smooth and easy to manage," she said. "It's what pushed me to do my master's.

"When I finished my bachelor's, I was very proud of myself and was so pumped and thought, 'I can go ahead and do this.'"

And that's exactly the advice she would give to anyone debating whether or not they should pursue their master's degree after their bachelor's. "If you already have the flow and routine down, you're not starting fresh. Just go ahead and do it."

Today, Ashley lives in Fort Worth, TX, with her family and is a preschool teacher who hopes one day to work in Human Resources.

"I've worked with several companies that didn't have an HR department. As a new employee, I didn't realize I had rights or a voice within the company. The first job that I had where there was an HR department, I was in awe. I thought, 'I could be a brand new light for employees.'"

With her MBA with a specialization in Human Resources in hand, Ashley has confidence in her career path.

"I am the first in my family to graduate with my master's, as well as the first to hold multiple degrees," Ashley said. "That has motivated me to know that I can get whatever I want done. Everything is attainable at this point."

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