Firsthand Experiences

Military Student

An aviation machinist in the Navy for three years, Sergio Ruiz already has an impressive résumé. But still he’s not fully satisfied with it. “Educational accomplishments combined with my disciplined military background are what will really help me to be more confident in the workforce and enable me to confront any challenge the workforce might bring. You need both a degree and experience.”

Because he has so much real-life experience himself, Sergio has found AIU Online’s MBA program (with a concentration in Management) a perfect match. “Every single professor at AIU Online has made a positive impression on me. Each has provided me with very good and knowledgeable information, much of it drawn from his or her own experiences in the real world, and each has been professional and understanding. AIU Online is unlike any other educational experience I have had.”

While Sergio, now in his sixth month at AIU Online, deals mostly with instructors these days, he says the AIU Online staff is equally accommodating and concerned, especially when it comes to military students: “They know the needs of military members. I’ve found AIU Online to be a very considerate and understanding school. Staff is around to help you with any problems you may have.”

AIU Online’s support, on top of the “100% encouragement” he gets from his chain of command and the Navy in general, helps take some of the stress out of getting a degree while continuing to work full time. But finding the time to study while keeping up with military duties is never easy: “The biggest challenge I faced when applying was fitting school time into my busy schedule. But there was only one way to find out if I could do it and that was to jump in and do it.”

“Sometimes procrastination and making excuses is a big factor in not furthering your education. I tell other military members to apply themselves a bit more and leave the procrastination and excuses behind. It will be difficult at times, but you must sacrifice; or you can look at it as investing some of your time to school work if you really want to be successful.”

Another hurdle Sergio hit was confidence. He had already earned a Bachelor’s degree (in government), but that was five years ago. “Having been out of school for so many years made me wonder if I still had it in me to take on a Master’s degree. But again, the only way I was going to find out was to do it.”

And so far it looks like Sergio’s “just do it” mentality is paying off. He’s balancing work, school and family and found that it was easy to get back into a “school” frame of mind. “The more educated you are, the better you can confront and adapt to the challenges that await you, but the educational experience itself is also a challenge that needs to be overcome. And by doing that, you learn a lot more than what is actually taught in the courses.”