Salomena Bollinger
AABA - Information Systems

Meet AIU Online Current Student Salomena Bollinger

Salomena Bollinger, current AIU Online student, knows from experience that one of the hardest jobs is being a single mother. The flexibility that AIU Online offers allows her to spend more time with her three year old daughter, Nokomis. The AIU Online Virtual Campus also provides students with personal interaction with other students and their instructors. According to Salomena, "It's very personal. I have a friend that attends a traditional college and I spend more time communicating with my classmates than she does. Every time I start a new class session I look forward to seeing who's in the same class again."

Salomena discovered that she could get state tuition assistance if she attended a traditional bricks and mortar campus for her college courses. However, that did not deter her from enrolling at AIU Online. In fact she went to the state office and impressed the staff that looked on as she logged on to AIU Online's Virtual Campus. Salomena quickly demonstrated that AIU Online would allow her to achieve her goals "faster, with a great education and without having to be away from my family."

For both a career and hobby, Salomena is passionate about working with computers. She rebuilds discarded computers and provides them at cost to low income families. She feels the AABA degree program at with a concentration in Information Systems is a perfect fit for her lifestyle and goals. There is no better place to learn about working with computers than on a computer. Salomena is not stopping after she earns her Associate's degree. She plans to continue courses at AIU Online to earn a Bachelor's and then a Master's degree in Information Technology.

Salomena also feels her instructors at AIU Online are accessible to her when she may need assistance. "Students have easy access to their instructors at AIU Online. Students I know that attend bricks and mortar campuses barely speak with their professors. At AIU Online we can call them, instant message them, and we're on a first name basis." Interactive learning at AIU Online already paid off for Salomena when she quickly learned percentages in an online tutoring chat session with one of her instructors.

Salomena feels that AIU Online offers her an education with career skills that she may be able to immediately apply to the real world. The emphasis on project-based learning at AIU Online provides students like Salomena with scenarios where they can learn and develop skills that may be in demand in current and future job markets. Salomena's success story with AIU Online has just begun—she is well on her way to where she wants to be!

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