California native runs toward success with ASU Online

For Lindsay Goldstein, school didn’t come easily.

Earning her degree felt like an insurmountable challenge while she struggled in her community college classes, so she took time off to focus on work. But finally, several years into her college journey and determined to succeed, Goldstein earned her associate degree.

From the beginning, Goldstein knew she wanted to pursue a career as a clinical psychologist, driven by her fascination with how the brain functions — why we do the things we do, the way we think — and people in general. More importantly, she had a desire for helping others, such as her brother, who had battled mental illness.

“I wanted to be able to help him, others like him, and understand what he might be going through,” she said.

However, community college wasn’t enough for her to achieve her goal, so she set her sights on attending a university.

As a working professional, she needed a flexible option to accommodate life demands and a school that offered the degree program required to take the next step.

At Arizona State University, she found the Bachelor of Arts in psychology online degree. With more than 350 online degree and certificate programs, ASU Online offers students a chance to complete their degree by meeting students where they are. Goldstein could stay close to home while ASU provided what she needed at that time in her life.

“I was a late bloomer in getting my degree,” Goldstein said. “The feeling of submitting my final project in the last class I needed to graduate was overwhelming and a huge accomplishment.”

Today, Goldstein is the first person in her family to earn a degree, and she’s part of the 100,000 graduates who earned a degree through ASU Online, a milestone the university celebrates this year.

Her love of ASU persisted after graduation, enhanced by the community she found despite being an online student.

As a California-based alum, the ASU LA Chapter helped her connect and network with fellow Sun Devils.

She ran in the Pat Tillman Honor Run in LA for several years, a passion she pursued further when she met ASU LA Chapter president Eddie Devall, who encouraged her to help produce the run.

Goldstein’s involvement in the alumni chapter led to helping at other events, including Sun Devil Send-Offs, an annual ASU tradition that welcomes incoming ASU students and their families to the Sun Devil family.

“My experience with ASU is different, and I’ve been fortunate to be able to share my experience with the new generation at the Send-Offs and help students in the online program know about the amazing resources available to help them be successful,” she said.

As someone who was recently diagnosed with ADHD, Goldstein encourages anyone looking to finish their degree or advance their career prospects to consider online education. Establishing a routine was her biggest challenge and the most impactful strategy she recommends to others starting online education.

“You have to be a self-starter,” Goldstein said. “You have to put in the effort, put in the work. And if you don't have structure, you need to figure out how to get structure.”

The lifelong learning skills she gained through ASU allowed her to transition roles and industries seamlessly from audio-visual to finance software.

And while her career has taken her down a different path than she imagined, Goldstein credits her ASU degree with her newfound success.

“I was able to take quite a few courses that helped me at a management and a leadership level,” she said. “I could take what I learned and apply it to where my company saw my potential to be promoted to a managerial level, which came with a title increase, pay increase and really helped me put a stake in the ground of what my role at that company could be.”

Her psychology degree and passion for helping people grow blossomed into something she didn’t expect. As a human resources coach, she has the opportunity to hone her newfound skills and work closely with her company’s board of directors and C-suite executives.

“I feel like for the first time I'm actually able to take all my experience from the professional sector, as well as from Arizona State University, and apply it in a company that sees my value, sees my worth,” Goldstein said. “I'm finally using all that experience.”