Meet Jacqueline Love: Do It For Yourself

Jacqueline Love started her Master of Educational Assessment and Evaluation degree program through AIU Online planning on becoming a teacher. While still in the middle of earning that degree however, Jacqueline realized she didn't want to teach. However she continued on to get the M. Ed degree and graduated in 2004.

"I had realized I didn't want to teach, but I still found the classes very interesting and educational. I was learning things, even things I could use in my daily life, and that made me a better person."

Now graduated and working two jobs that are unrelated to the field of education, Jacqueline says she doesn't regret getting her M.Ed degree—or having made the sacrifices she did to do it—at all. "My Master's degree was strictly about me. I wasn't doing it to get a raise or a better job. It was about self-gratification."

Jacqueline is the only one in her family to have attained a Master's degree. "Being able to say I have a Master's degree allows me to feel a sense of achievement and the knowledge I gained during the process has made me a better person. I can't regret any of that." Her educational achievements have inspired several family members and friends to get their degrees. None have yet caught up to Jacqueline by earning a Master's degree though.

Jacqueline says it was because of her kids—she has three—that she first went back to college. "I wanted to show them you could do whatever you set your mind to and that education was a way to better yourself." It worked. Jacqueline's oldest daughter—she's 22—will graduate with her Associate's degree in Business Administration in December and will then immediately go on to get her Bachelor of Science completion degree in Criminal Justice. Upon Jacqueline's recommendation, her daughter is attending AIU Online. "I tell just about everyone I come into contact with about AIU Online. AIU Online's curriculum is very sensible and nothing beats the online format in terms of convenience."

Jacqueline is the first to explain that convenient doesn't mean easy. "Going to school online was simpler—my previous Master's degree program required me to drive quite a distance and was very taxing because of it—but the onlince courses weren't any easier. In fact, I'd say they were more challenging than the traditional classes I have taken."

And this doesn't even take Jacqueline's particular situation into account. While earning her degree through AIU Online, she was raising three kids on her own, working full-time during the week as an office manager and working weekends as a Human Resources consultant. "Because I am dedicated and determined, I would have earned my Master of Education degree at a traditional campus if that was the only option, but I am glad I could do it another way. It was still hard, but it was less so."

The challenging courses at AIU Online and sacrifices she had to make were worth it according to Jacqueline. "I think I learned more than I would have in a traditional program. I was learning practical things and, because there wasn't an instructor right in front of me to answer each and every question, I had to research lots of things on my own, which helped me learn even more."

Before graduating through AIU Online with her M.Ed, Jacqueline had earned an Associate's degree in Paralegal Studies, a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice and had worked most of the way through a Master's degree program in Human Resources Administration. All of these degrees were earned, or partially earned in the case of her Master's in HR Administration, at traditional schools.

Although only three classes shy of the HR Master's degree, Jacqueline says she has no intention of finishing it unless the program goes online. "Now that I know about the freedom online courses allow, I'm done driving to classes. I'm not doing any classes anymore unless they are online."

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