Ashley Neal at work with lots of people behind herMy story could be a lot shorter if I had known about UA Online a few years earlier; however, I’m so thankful that I discovered UA Online.

I graduated with my associate degree in Hotel Restaurant Management from Meridian Community College in 2008. At the time I didn’t want to move, but I wanted to pursue a bachelor’s degree.

In 2012 I decided to take classes at MCC so I could transfer and earn my bachelor’s degree from the local university in Meridian. The local university didn’t offer a bachelor’s degree in Hotel Management – the degree I wanted – so when I returned to MCC, I had to pursue a marketing degree so I would be able to at least start my journey towards a bachelor’s degree.

One day I heard a UA Online commercial on the radio and immediately looked it up. I noticed that UA offered a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management online, and I would be able to graduate with the degree I wanted! I applied, got accepted and said “Hello, UA!” I was already a director of sales for a hotel and conference center, but I wanted to achieve my goal of earning a bachelor’s degree.

I started taking classes at UA in January 2013 and finished in December 2015. During the process I moved to Tuscaloosa where I am now a general manager in the hotel industry. With my job requirements I would not have been able to complete my degree if I had taken classes the traditional way.

My professors were great! My experience was great! I feel accomplished and was able to graduate with the degree I wanted!


Published: April 5th, 2018