By Christi Mays
Walking across the stage meant the world to Monica Vrise颅no '21. It meant she had finally met her goal. It meant she wasn鈥檛 letting test anxiety dictate her future. It meant she could get a higher-paying job. But the one thing that meant the most was that she was setting an example for her two boys.
鈥淚 knew I had to do this for them鈥攖o set an example,鈥 she said of finishing her bachelor鈥檚 degree through the MyWay program. Inscribed on her graduation cap was the phrase, 鈥淚 wanted to give up, but then I remembered who was watching.鈥
Just like for any working mother and wife, getting her degree proved to be a challenging road, but because Monica chose the MyWay route, she said the flexibility of the unique competency-based education model was the right choice for her. MyWay offers two degree programs in organizational leadership and RN to BSN, and students learn at their own pace. Instead of taking quizzes and finals, students prove competency of the materials through assess颅ments like research papers and presentations. Not having to take tests to pass a class is what convinced Monica to go through MyWay versus traditional or even online degree programs.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 do well in a classroom environment,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 get really anxious taking tests.鈥
She remembers the first semester of traditional college classes after graduating from high school. She would walk into a test knowing the material well, but as soon as she saw the countdown clock on her computer, she would panic and freeze. She quit after only one semester. Later in life, when she was working for the school district, her teacher friends convinced her to go back and try again, and she earned her associate鈥檚 degree online. It wasn鈥檛 as bad for her as being in a traditional classroom, but when she and husband Tony started a family, going back to finish a bachelor鈥檚 degree was out of the question.