When I transferred to Arizona State University Online I was hungry for the knowledge and the satisfaction of obtaining my degree. When I spoke to my academic advisor I told him, “I want to do six classes in the Fall and Spring semesters so that in my last two semesters I can do four classes in the Summer and five classes the next Fall.” My advisor highly recommended not doing that and said most people could not handle the workload, especially with a job, but that only made me hungrier to make it happen so that I could graduate in December 2020. I told my advisor I wanted to make it happen; we tried it, and we did it! Now I am in my final classes, and am projected to graduate in December 2020.
At the time, some of the more advanced classes I needed to take were Advanced Research Methods in Communication, Quantitative Research Methods in Communication, and Communication Training and Development. Not only did my advisor say that taking these classes simultaneously was going to be a challenge from a workload standpoint, but my advisor also said that independently these classes are more challenging than most communication courses. I had nightmares about these courses! I feared I would not pass and having to retake a course was not the path I had in mind for myself. I knew that if I had to retake a course, my goals of graduating by December 2020 would be impossible to achieve. It was no easy feat, but luckily I can say that I took all these courses, I passed, and I can now move forward!
COM 308 covered Advanced Research Methods in Communications, finding peer reviewed journals, and making cases about already established Communication Theories plus what needs to be explored more. COM 408 discussed Quantitative Research Methods in Communication, which included statistics and software to solve experimental problems such as the experiment's validity. Lastly, COM 453 covered Communication Training/Development. In this class we had to make a training plan with a real company. The final report that I typed out was a 24-page paper, the longest, most detailed report I have ever written! Each course challenged me, and made me grow in ways that I didn't know were possible.
I am very grateful to have experienced this education from Arizona State because many people are not able to. The lessons and tools I learned, not just from these three courses listed above, but from all the ASU Online courses I have been a part of through my educational journey, not only improved my knowledge for the potential work field, but my knowledge for life itself.
We're so excited to share Zac’s story! Zac is a part of our #learnASUlive team, an ASU Online brand ambassador program highlighting students who are earning their degrees while living their lives to the fullest. If you enjoyed this, be sure to check back for new articles from Zac so that you can follow along with his journey. To check out all his posts to date, visit Zac’s Instagram!
Want to hear from our other ambassadors, too? Use the #learnASUlive hashtag across your favorite social channels to browse through them!