Student Stories

Lauren Trerotola was ready to pursue her master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. She had earned a double major in her undergraduate years in Psychology and Criminal Justice from Rutgers University. Due to pain and fatigue caused by Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), a neurological condition affecting both motor and sensory nerves, her bachelor’s degree had taken an entire...

 

With a bachelor’s in history from Auburn and a law degree from The University of Alabama School of Law, Kate Britt began as a legal assistant in a small law firm in Birmingham, Alabama. She then decided to pursue her Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) from the University’s College of Communication and Information...

 

After practicing nursing for 27 years, Lois Konzelman turned to nursing education as a way to fulfill her desire to teach the next generation of nurses. In 2017, Lois graduated from The University of Alabama with an EdD in Instructional Leadership, concentration in Nurse Education – a collaborative, interdisciplinary doctoral program offered through the University’s...

 

First-generation college student Joseph Thomas recalls his mother’s advice to him early on. He was in Child Protective Services’ care due to extreme poverty, a drug-addicted father and having witnessed his sister’s sexual assault, and his mother explained to him that the only way out of that situation in the future was through education. He...

 

Quality is something always on Tyler Morgan’s mind. Tyler works at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia, where he’s a senior quality engineer for the Navy’s missile production. His leadership encouraged a more technical background, which Tyler is fulfilling by earning a bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering through UA Online. This isn’t Tyler’s first experience...

 

Debra Weldon finished her first full marathon in 2014, and three years later she began a new race, pursuing her master’s degree in Educational Psychology — School Psychometry through UA Online. Weldon is a special education teacher in her school district in Deatsville, Alabama. She first learned about school psychometry while sitting in on eligibility...

 

Courtney Elliott Thrasher was not your typical student waiting to find out if she got into college. At 37, Courtney worried her neighbors might think she was crazy when the large envelope from The University of Alabama arrived and she broke down crying in her driveway. “Congratulations! You’ve been accepted,” it read. “Alabama has always...

 

After many years teaching and counseling in Georgia, Dr. Millie Dawson-Hardy looked to The University of Alabama for the next step in her career. The Alabama native returned to her home state to serve as the Clinical Assistant Professor for the fully online EdS in Counselor Education program through the College of Education. Dawson-Hardy received...

 

In 2009, while Nick Saban was leading the Alabama Crimson Tide to their first National Championship since 1992 and a perfect no-loss season, Chris Poarch was charting his own path to victory as he enrolled in his first college course – online. Poarch began his education through UA Online after serving for nearly 16 years...

 

Mother of two small children and a pediatric primary care nurse practitioner in New Jersey, Lauren O’Hanlan has long been a fierce contender, setting challenging goals and rising above any obstacle that gets in her way. UA Online is proud to have helped her achieve her most recent feat — graduating with her Doctor of...