John McGreal has been working for The University of Alabama as a regional recruiter in the Midwest since 2012. In 2015, he was promoted to manager, and in this role he oversees 10 recruitment territories and nine recruiters who cover 20 different states, accounting for at least 50% of the geographic area of the country.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Saint Francis in Chicago. By 2017, John had fallen in love with higher education and enrollment management, and he knew not having a master’s might hinder his career advancement. UA had just started offering their highly respected Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration in a 100% online format, so he decided it was time to complete his graduate degree.
“I knew I wanted a master’s from a different style of institution than I had attended for undergrad. Working for a large public university and having gone to a small private liberal arts college, it seemed like a natural fit for me to go through UA’s program and get a different experience,” John said.
As a full-time recruiter manager, John had a lot on his plate already, with a busy couple of years ahead. During the two years he was in the program, he got engaged, married and became president of his professional organization, the Wisconsin Association for College Admission Counseling. But because of the online format, he was confident he would be able to balance the master’s as well. “I had a colleague who had completed a different master’s program through UA Online, and I had seen how she was able to work ahead and stay on top of her coursework, so I knew going in that it was going to be feasible,” John said.
UA was different than his undergraduate college, but he recognized some comforts in the faculty. “UA is a large institution with faculty who are very much engaged in research in their field, and that was different, but I still ended up finding a lot of that same familiarity once I got to know the faculty, so that was nice,” he said.
Twice during the program, the kindness of the program’s faculty came to John’s rescue – in the worst of times and the best.
Sadly, right before one of his spring semesters, John’s mother-in-law passed away. “I put my wife on a plane, I was on a plane a couple of days later, and then I realized I had completely forgotten that classes had started! I emailed Dr. Nathaniel Bray and told him what had happened, and he very quickly replied and told me absolutely not to worry about it. His first point of concern was making sure we were doing OK.”
Another time that same empathy was communicated, but on a happier note. After John and his wife got married, knowing his honeymoon would fall mid-semester, John was trying to work ahead, but in one particular class, the discussion boards weren’t available that far in advance. “I emailed Dr. Claire Major, and asked her what to do, and she replied first with ‘Oh my goodness, congratulations! That’s so exciting!’ and then with a simple, ‘Don’t worry about that. You can get to it when you get back.’ They were always just very understanding and kind, fully engaged with their students.”
John’s experience as a student has helped him to understand what UA is all about. “I tell prospective students all the time that an institution can look great and be aesthetically attractive, but it’s the people who make up the institution that make the difference. Dr. Kari Holley was my adviser, and she was with me every step of the way. I’ve now seen firsthand what my students tell me – the faculty and staff at UA are really invested in their students and want to see them succeed.”
John graduated in August 2019, and earning the master’s has already helped him in his career. “It’s helped me discover more of my professional voice and given me so much knowledge through my research in the program. I’ve also been able to implement a lot of strategic leadership principles I learned in the program, and I’ve found pieces of my leadership style that I can refine and build upon to better serve my team – and I gained that through the program.”
“The biggest thing I can say is that the credential helps give context to my lived experience. There was flexibility in our research topics so we could gear it toward our career interests. My research gave me increased knowledge directly related to what I do on a day-to-day basis.”
Published: August 30th, 2020