It has been a long winding road with some major detours – trees down…intersections with the traffic lights out…storms…the pandemic…etc. – but I made it! It took me about a decade in total to earn my degree, but look at me now; I am here sharing my success story with you.
My college journey started in high school where I discovered that I excelled at typing and poetry. Because I did not see a career in poetry, I went to the Sunday New York Times classifieds to determine how I could best utilize my strong typing skills. I saw that legal secretaries earned the highest salaries, so a legal secretary I would be. To pursue this career, I first attended business school. After a year of study, I transferred because a fellow student told me that a young lady my age should be in college, not business school. I was naive enough to take her at her word. And just like that, at the advice of a practical stranger, I transferred to community college for a year of Legal Secretarial Science studies. What neither she nor I considered was that I worked in Midtown Manhattan and lived in the Rockaways, so remaining at the business school in midtown near my office would have been more sensible than commuting to another part of Queens to attend college.
This is a good place to pause and share a Kelley Tip: When we are striving to meet a goal, convenience is not necessarily laziness. It may be wisdom! Maybe if I had stayed in my business school, which coincidentally later converted to a college, I would have earned my bachelor’s degree years ago…maybe. We will never know. Once I landed a job as a legal secretary, I abandoned my academic studies with no thought of returning. My career goal was met.
Who knew a decision made as a teenager in high school would carry me this far. However, when I decided I wanted to manage and train assistants, I needed to prepare for a career shift. Even then, I had no intention of earning a degree. I earned a Certificate in Organizational Development and Leadership, but I learned that certificates are not always enough. Some employers require a degree.
When I finally found and enrolled in CUNY SPS, I thought, “Where have you been all my life!” I took a course or two per semester. I also earned credits through non-collegiate learning. I may literally be the CUNY SPS Queen of Credit by Portfolio.
Here is another Kelley Tip: Early in my CUNY SPS career, I took the PLA 300 course (Portfolio Development for Prior Learning Assessment). It was in that course that I learned how to earn credits through non-collegiate learning. Later, I completed the Google Project Management Professional Certificate and earned Credit for Non-Collegiate Learning that way—nine to be exact. When you earn credits this way, you save time and money.
Currently, I am working toward my master’s in Business Management and Leadership here. Let’s face it, once you earn 120 credits for a bachelor’s degree, the fraction of credits needed for a master’s should be a breeze, particularly since online studies is an option that was not afforded us decades ago.
I would also like to mention my involvement in student activities, including my presidency of MELO (Management and Entrepreneur Leadership Organization). I genuinely believe my leadership role has better prepared me to lead in a corporate setting.
I said all that to say this: If at all humanly possible do not quit! It may have taken eight years, but I made it!
