Going to college as a working adult is the ultimate balancing act.
Asheli Eldridge can tell you.
The first-generation college graduate went back to school to earn her degree in her early thirties as a single mom while also working full-time at a bank. Juggling responsibilities was the only way to make it happen.
At first, Eldridge had tabled the idea of going to college because it would be costly and she worried about focusing on the wrong path. But as she grew in her career, earning a degree became more important.
“There were many career options in front of me in agile professions, but I didn’t quite have the knowledge to successfully break into these areas,” she said.
She knew she wanted to become an executive-level leader one day, and a college degree was the catalyst to help her achieve her goal.
There was a problem, though. All of the available local programs were in-person and conflicted with her work and family schedule.
To make her dream of an education a reality, Eldridge looked online and found the Bachelor of Arts in organizational leadership with a concentration in project management offered online at Arizona State University.
Established in 2010, ASU Online now boasts more than 300 online degree programs taught by the same world-class ASU faculty who teach on campus.
“ASU was the only university at the time with the option of organizational leadership and project management in the same degree,” she said. “The innovation and digital availability of ASU Online courses were paramount to my success. I didn’t need to change my work schedule or pay for evening childcare.”
Eldridge is one of the 100,000 graduates that ASU Online is celebrating this year, a milestone it reached over the summer and a testament to the number of students ASU has been able to help through online education.
Earning a degree certainly provided tremendous benefits for Eldridge’s life and career. Her focus on organizational leadership and project management played a vital role in her work at the bank.
“With organizational leadership, I learned how to navigate complex matrix systems in an organization, which is exactly what the bank has,” she said.
“Part of my job is to navigate those on a regular basis and be able to get people to talk to each other and solve problems. The project management piece actually helped me land the next promotion.”
Through the online educational opportunities provided by ASU, students have reached degree completion, reached professional goals and changed the socioeconomic trajectories of their families.
Eldridge was promoted twice, once during her program and again upon graduation.
“I went from a lower-level analyst to an insights consultant driving strategic solutions in digital banking experiences,” she said. “I also increased my salary by $40,000. I learned I could overcome adversity, do hard things and still be an awesome single parent to my daughter.”
Before Eldridge went back to school, her young daughter didn’t think of herself as going to college; she imagined being a ballerina or a skateboarder. Her perspective shifted after watching her mom’s journey. Eldridge took the opportunity to talk about achieving big goals through hard work and dedication, and now her 10-year-old daughter has a different outlook.
“Now when I ask, she says, ‘Maybe I want to be a scientist or a nurse or something to do with the environment,’” Eldridge said. “It changed her view. I think because she saw mom doing hard things, it means she can do hard things. And I think that’s a really important lesson for your kids to learn.”
As a first-generation college graduate, Eldridge saw the impact not having a degree had on her parents. They were hard workers, but struggled nonetheless. Eldridge was determined to avoid those same struggles for her and her daughter’s sake.
ASU provided the support system she needed to persevere, making her feel like she mattered, especially when her work and school schedules jockeyed for attention or when she suffered a traumatic brain injury from an accident in her last year of the program.
“The professors were definitely a huge bonus,” she said. “They were so amazing. If I was ever overwhelmed or just needed an extra day, there were definitely plenty of them who gave me that time knowing that I was working full-time and I was a single parent and I was doing everything I could to manage it all at once.”
It is precisely by meeting students where they are that ASU Online provides accessible education to students.
If Eldridge could give one piece of advice to other working single parents pursuing their degree, it would be to never give up. Breaking down barriers and investing in oneself and one’s family is worth every effort, no matter how hard or how time consuming.
“I think I’m capable of anything now,” she said. “Before my degree, I didn’t ever think I could be an organizational leader or anything like that. I didn’t ever think that I’d get to the point that I am in my career. But now, shoot for the stars. Worst case scenario, you land on the moon.”