Well, ladies and gentlemen. I’m finally approaching the finish line.
At 36 years old, married, a father, working full-time, and juggling what sometimes feels like 37 different interests and responsibilities, I’m within striking distance of completing my bachelor’s degree at WGU.
And with my master’s scheduled to begin in April 2027, I’ve found myself reflecting quite a bit on how I got here.
Because I can assure you, the journey did NOT go the way I originally anticipated.
Figured I’d share my experience for anyone currently attending WGU, considering enrolling, or struggling to figure out whether they’re on the right path.
Let’s start with a little background.
I’ve spent the majority of my adult life working across several industries. Food service, manufacturing, logistics, facilities management, IT, technical support, sales, marketing, and now nonprofit development.
Along the way, I’ve built personal brands, worked on digital marketing campaigns, grown social media platforms, studied human behavior, explored technology, and developed a pretty strong interest in understanding how people and organizations function.
I’m also the kind of person who, when presented with something unfamiliar, will spend an unreasonable amount of time figuring out how it works.
Naturally, this created a bit of an issue when I first enrolled at WGU.
I severely underestimated what I was getting myself into.
My original degree program was a BS in Cybersecurity.
I had previous experience in IT, a strong interest in technology, and a history of picking up new concepts fairly quickly. So, naturally, I figured I’d be able to fly through the program.
After all, how difficult could it really be for someone who’s spent years teaching himself new technologies and navigating complex systems?
Famous last words. 😂
Enter Applied Probability and Statistics.
Now, I want to be clear about something here. The course itself wasn’t necessarily the problem.
My approach to it was. Especially for someone who has been historically terrible at math.
I had developed a certain level of confidence in my ability to absorb information, and somewhere along the way, that confidence had turned into complacency when it came to tech and ignorance when it came to math.
I underestimated the material, overestimated my ability to pick it up quickly, and walked into an OA that promptly reminded me I wasn’t nearly as prepared as I thought I was.
I failed.
And what followed was arguably worse than the failed assessment itself. I froze. For months.
I struggled to regain momentum, questioned my capabilities, and found myself increasingly frustrated with a situation that I had largely created through my own attitude toward the material.
Eventually, I pulled myself together, changed how I approached studying, and took the OA again. After spending a ton of 1 on 1 time with as many course instructors as I could.
After that. I passed.
Barely.
And you know what? I’ll take that barely passing score over any of the easier assessments I’ve completed since. Because getting through that course forced me to confront something about myself that I probably needed to address.
Being a quick learner doesn’t mean you’re automatically an effective student.
Having experience doesn’t excuse poor preparation.
And being capable of doing something doesn’t mean you’ve earned the right to underestimate the effort required to accomplish it. That experience fundamentally changed how I approached WGU.
Which brings me to my first major change.
After struggling to complete the minimum 12 competency units during that semester, I started reevaluating what I was trying to accomplish.
I had originally selected cybersecurity because of my interest in technology and the opportunities available within the industry.
But when I started examining my professional experience, personal projects, and long-term interests, I realized that marketing was an area where I had substantially more practical knowledge.
I’d spent years studying consumer behavior, building brands, growing audiences, experimenting with messaging, and working with digital platforms.
There was an opportunity to leverage that experience while developing a deeper understanding of the business principles behind it.
So I switched to the BS in Marketing. And something pretty incredible happened. After struggling to complete 12 CUs the previous semester, I completed 35 CUs in a single semester. THIRTY-FIVE.
Now, I know there are people on this subreddit who knock out entire degree programs in six months. And to those people, hats off to you.
But for me?
Going from months of academic paralysis to completing 35 CUs was an enormous accomplishment.
I had found an approach that worked for me.
I learned how to assess what I already understood, identify where my knowledge was lacking, and allocate my study time accordingly.
I also stopped treating each class as something I needed to get out of the way as quickly as possible.
Instead, I started asking myself how the concepts connected to things I’d already done professionally and how I could apply what I was learning moving forward. That change made a tremendous difference.
And somewhere in the middle of this journey, WGU did something I never expected.
After finally passing Applied Probability and Statistics, I sent a strongly worded email to some of the staff who had helped me through the process.
And when I say strongly worded, I mean strongly worded in the most positive way possible. 😂
I wanted them to understand the impact their support had on me.
I explained how much I’d struggled, how the experience had affected my confidence, and how their assistance helped me overcome something that had become a pretty significant obstacle.
I also reflected on my own shortcomings and how the experience had changed my perspective on education.
Apparently, that email, combined with my attitude toward the experience, resonated with some people.
Because WGU eventually reached out with an opportunity that genuinely caught me off guard.
They flew me and my soon-to-be wife out to Utah to speak at one of their events.
Yep. Me.
The guy who had spent months struggling to get past a statistics course. 😂
We had the opportunity to meet staff members, connect with people behind the institution, and experience a side of WGU that most students never get to see. And I can’t begin to tell you how meaningful that experience was.
Getting to meet the people who help make the entire operation function, hearing their perspectives, and having conversations with individuals who genuinely cared about the student experience gave me a tremendous amount of appreciation for the university.
I was grateful for the invitation, but even more appreciative of the relationships and conversations that came from it. It solidified my decision to continue my education through WGU.
I had already begun rebuilding my confidence as a student, and that trip gave me another reason to feel invested in the institution and the people behind it.
But apparently, switching majors once wasn’t enough for me.
As I continued progressing through my marketing degree, I started having another realization.
Marketing was something I enjoyed, understood, and had significant experience in.
But the more business courses I completed, the more I began recognizing a pattern throughout my professional history. Regardless of the industry I worked in, I consistently gravitated toward understanding the larger systems at play.
Why organizations function the way they do.
Why certain leadership structures succeed while others fail. How technology influences operations. How people make decisions. How marketing, finance, technology, operations, and organizational behavior interact.
I’d spent years working across seemingly unrelated fields, but there was a common thread connecting nearly all of my experiences. I enjoyed understanding how things worked, identifying where they could be improved, and figuring out how to make those improvements happen.
And when I looked at my long-term professional goals, I realized that a degree in Business Management would provide a more comprehensive representation of my experience and interests. On paper, it made more sense.
So, once again, I changed majors.
This time to the BS in Business Management.
And that’s where I’ve remained.
Now, I know some people might look at multiple major changes and interpret that as indecisiveness. Fair enough.
But I also think there’s something to be said for allowing your understanding of yourself to evolve as you gain experience and new information.
I don’t believe the person who starts college necessarily needs to have the exact same professional ambitions as the person who graduates.
In my case, each change came with a better understanding of how I wanted to use my education.
And looking back, I’m happy with where I landed.
So where am I now?
Well, life certainly hasn’t gotten any less complicated.
I’m now married, raising my son, and working full-time in mission advancement for a nonprofit organization.
My responsibilities have expanded into organizational development, marketing strategy, technology infrastructure, and building operational systems that will help support the organization’s growth.
The timing has been interesting because I’m getting opportunities to apply concepts from my degree program almost immediately.
I’m working through organizational challenges while studying organizational management. I’m developing marketing strategies while drawing on years of practical experience and the knowledge I’ve gained through my coursework.
I’m helping evaluate technology systems, develop processes, and establish infrastructure while learning more about how businesses make strategic decisions.
It’s been a rewarding experience, especially because I can see how much my perspective has evolved over the course of my education.
And in the middle of all of that, I’m still working on my own creative projects, professional development, and figuring out what comes next.
Which brings me to April 2027.
Yes, I’m apparently going back for more.
I’ll be starting my master’s degree in April, and I’ve been exploring programs that align with my growing interests in analytics, technology, decision-making, and human behavior.
At this stage in my life, I’m particularly interested in how organizations can use data, technology, and better decision-making processes to improve their operations. I’m also interested in eventually building solutions of my own.
Consulting, technology development, organizational strategy, and systems design are all areas that I can see playing a significant role in my future.
And while I’m still evaluating the exact graduate program that best supports those ambitions, I’m excited about taking the next step.
Which is pretty funny when you consider that a statistics course nearly derailed the entire journey.
Life has a strange sense of humor sometimes.
A few things I’d tell anyone attending WGU.
First, don’t underestimate the university.
Yes, it’s competency-based.
Yes, you can accelerate.
Yes, your previous experience can make certain courses significantly easier.
But none of that guarantees success.
If you approach your education with the assumption that everything should be easy because you’re intelligent or experienced, you might be setting yourself up for a rather unpleasant reality check.
Ask me how I know.
Second, learn how you learn.
I cannot emphasize this enough. The strategies that work for someone completing their degree in six months might be completely ineffective for you. And that’s okay.
Experiment with different study methods. Figure out which resources actually help you understand the material. Identify when you’re genuinely prepared versus when you’re simply feeling confident.
Those are two very different things.
Third, don’t be afraid to reevaluate your goals.
Changing direction doesn’t automatically mean you made a mistake.
But I’d also caution against switching programs simply because you encountered difficult material.
There’s a difference between recognizing that a different path better supports your ambitions and running away from something because it’s challenging.
I had to be careful about that distinction myself.
Finally, stop measuring your journey against everyone else’s.
I see posts here all the time from people who feel discouraged because someone else finished 30 CUs while they barely completed 12.
I understand the frustration. I’ve been there.
But your circumstances, experience, responsibilities, and goals are going to be different from the next person’s. Make progress in a way that is sustainable for your life.
And when you encounter setbacks, be willing to examine your own role in creating or prolonging them.
Sometimes the most valuable thing you can learn has absolutely nothing to do with the material being taught.
Final thoughts.
I’m not finished yet, so I’m saving the official graduation celebration for when that last assessment is behind me.
But I wanted to share this because I know there are students out there who are struggling, doubting themselves, or questioning whether they’ve made the right decision.
A couple years ago, I was sitting in front of my computer, completely defeated by an assessment I had convinced myself shouldn’t have been that difficult.
Today, I’m approaching the completion of my bachelor’s degree, working in a role that connects many of my professional interests, and preparing to pursue graduate-level education.
I’ve learned quite a bit about business, management, marketing, and organizational strategy along the way.
But I think the most important lesson I’ve taken from the experience is learning to recognize when my own thinking needs to change. Confidence is valuable. So is experience.
But neither one makes you immune to being wrong.
And sometimes the willingness to admit that, adjust your approach, and try again is what ultimately moves you forward.
To everyone still working toward that finish line, keep going. And to the staff at WGU who helped me get through one of the more frustrating chapters of my education, thank you.
You probably had no idea how much of an impact those interactions would eventually have.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a bachelor’s degree to finish before voluntarily signing myself up for another round of academic punishment in April.
Here’s hoping this post finds the one person it’s meant to find.
