by Ysolt Usigan
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"My husband and I are social animals," says Wall-Czech. "We enjoy going to dinner, attending wine festivals, antiquing, watching football and hanging with 'the crew' at the ELKS." And when Wall-Czech has time to spare away from the virtual classroom to partake in yet another hobby, the self-proclaimed trendsetter hits the mall. So just how did this hip musician and social butterfly get into the information technology industry?
Wall-Czech briefly attended Seton Hall University (South Orange, N.J.) after high school, but left without getting a degree. Although the 41-year-old didn't finish college, she managed to work her way into management in the insurance industry. But when Wall-Czech was laid off in 1993, she immediately faced difficulty finding another management position without a degree.
"I hit the newspapers and immediately started sending out résumés. Little did I know that many of mine were being tossed in the garbage when [companies] would see I hadn't completed my college degree," she concludes. "I was in a band at the time, which helped bring in money, but it was a very demeaning time in my life.
Although Wall-Czech had over 12 years of insurance management experience, she says she felt worthless without a degree. "People with four-year degrees were being hired for the same job that I had experience in -- and, they had none," she attests.
Wall-Czech eventually found a job in a doctor's office, but knew the opportunity wasn't right for her. "I [worked there] for four years, but I felt I could do so much better," she says. "I began trying to figure out my game plan; I wondered if I went back to school, how long it would take."
Wall-Czech was also deliberating questions typical to many adult learners: Would my previous college credits be accepted? Am I too old to go back to school? Can I hack it with all the younger students?
After a suggestion from a family member, Wall-Czech found herself studying in cyberspace at DeVry University's virtual campus. "I decided I needed a change," she explains. "And boy, was I terrified! But, I gave it a shot, and I loved it!"
And now that Wall-Czech's added guitarist and lead vocalist for a SHANIA TWAIN tribute show band, "Simply Shania," to her list of passions, she found online learning was the best choice. The flexibility of taking classes on her own time made it possible for Wall-Czech to juggle a family, work and tour the world. Her band performed at an Air Force base in Seoul, Korea, last year, and are scheduled to entertain troops in Iraq and Afghanistan in the coming months. Of course, that's in her spare time; she makes her professional mark as a quality assurance analyst for a health care software provider.
With so much on her plate, it's no wonder that Wall-Czech's main criterion for schooling was convenience. "Who wouldn't love to go to school in pajamas?" she jokes. "Seriously, with online learning, I can log onto classes from home or when I'm traveling." While living the rock star life, Wall-Czech's been known to access her classes at Internet cafés and military-base computer labs.
When she's not on the road, a typical day involves working during the day in product development and quality assurance, having dinner at home with her family, and logging hours at night surfing the Web to work on school-related projects. No matter where she is, or what she's doing, she's busy. Yet even with such a demanding schedule, Wall-Czech successfully earned a bachelor's degree in computer information systems and business information systems. She is remaining with DeVry for postgraduate work, having since enrolled at DeVry's Keller Graduate School of Management where she plans to complete a master's degree in project management this year.
For a Jill-of-many trades like Wall-Czech, it helps that there's more to online schooling than just degrees. Many advantages became apparent to he as she continued on with her cyber studies. "You meet so many different people from all over the globe," she explains. "You have the opportunity to learn international business practices, as well as a wide variety of cultures." She's befriended fellow students from Canada, Australia, England, China, even Baghdad (just to name a few).
Of course, with such diversity comes somewhat of a disadvantage, specifially when a project calls for working in a synchronous (a set time) team. "It's sometimes difficult to reach each other," Wall-Czech explains. "We're all on different time zones, we each are busy with our own lives, and we may not be logged in at the same time." Since e-mail works best when corresponding with classmates, projects tend to take lots of time and effort, she says.
When asked if she has any regrets? "Absolutely none! In fact, I'm so impressed with the process that I'm seriously contemplating pursuing my Ph.D. online and a career as an online college professor."
© 2006 Classes USA, Inc. All rights reserved.
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