Distance degree can demonstrate hustle to employers
As she puts it, Avi van Haren never gave herself the gift of postsecondary education when she was younger. The Vancouverite jumped straight into her career, and as it progressed, she simply didn’t have time to get a degree – or degrees – to accelerate it further.
After years working as a business analyst and product manager for a medical imaging company, Ms. van Haren decided to give university a try. Her options were limited. She was constrained not just by work hours, but work travel. Everything needed to be on her own time. “I needed the freedom to do my coursework anywhere I was in North America,” she says.
So at 41, four years ago, she applied to Royal Roads University’s “blended model” bachelor of arts in professional communications, which is completed largely online with two intense three-week student residencies a year. Thanks to her extensive work experience, Ms. van Haren was accepted into the accelerated program, and graduated in just two years. She liked it enough that she went back to Royal Roads for a blended MBA in executive management. She graduated earlier this month, and her hustle has already paid off. In October, she was hired as director of product management at health-tech startupAyogo Health Inc. Read More…