CRM: Catalitzador d’estratègies comercials

Of the five women and one man who comprised this group, two worked in government jobs, and four were in the private sector. Job security was the primary interest of only one of them. All the rest were seeking advancement or, in one case, new opportunities, as of yet undefined. Of these six, only one was following the ministry track.

The case of Lea

Lea graduated from her degree-completion program the same month her daughter graduated from high school. In addition to her salaried job, she is a business woman and is very active in her church, often doing PowerPoint presentations for the services. Half Japanese, she maintains a cordial relationship with her relatives there, in spite of the fact that she doesn’t speak Japanese yet, she said. She gave the impression of being self- controlled and reserved, though she was friendly and had an easy laugh. She has always loved reading, studying and learning, so much so that she had taken dozens of college classes, but she had never concerned herself with a degree until a few years ago.

She became concerned when the Pentagon began reviewing whether the military base where she worked would be closed as part of the base realignment and closure program. If the base were to be closed, she would have to get employment elsewhere, she reasoned, but she had been working there 20 years and had no experience in any other kind of work. “So,” she said, “at that time I decided: I've got to get the piece of paper.” She finished her basics at a state college and then enrolled in the Business and Leadership program at Hampton College.

The case of Samuel

Samuel is a very capable man of 41, single, who has been involved in education of the deaf most of his adult life as teacher and interpreter. He holds the highest

certification for his career field and clearly enjoys what he does. In his present job, he translates live telephone/video calls to and from deaf people, and he interprets the Sunday services every week in his church. Active as a preacher, he has traveled widely,

especially to Third World countries, in relation to his church. Quick spoken and sure of his opinions and judgments, Samuel sometimes displayed more than a hint of cynicism. In the past he has been a storm chaser, and has done volunteer EMT and fire department work. “I get to run my lights and sirens every now and then. That is my other multiple personality,” he joked.

Samuel has been in and out of college since he graduated from high school but has never managed to get enough of the proper credits together to get a degree. He dropped out of the degree-completion program at Denver College a few years back for financial reasons, but has now re-enrolled and is in his last year of studies in the Ministry and Leadership track. He is not worried about losing his job: it is a highly specialized field for which there is high demand. He is interested in having a degree that is accredited that will serve him as a stepping stone, but he is unsure as to what he will be stepping into: perhaps he will go “back in the classroom and teach a little bit at the college or do some workshops….” All of that is quite vague. What is not vague is that he wants a recognized degree, and that as soon as possible.

The case of Naomi

Naomi loves to laugh. She is a 39-year-old divorced businesswoman and mother of a teenager, an energetic self-starter, who owns and runs a graphic design business in

addition to a separate photography business. She is a vibrant, bubbly person, who gives the impression—a false one, she says—of being totally self-confident and in control. She had become frustrated because her abilities and obvious talents did not count when she wanted to bid for certain jobs: “Even though I had knowledge and on-the-job training, I wasn't able to apply for a lot of jobs that I should have been—and I would have been— qualified for, simply because I didn't have my bachelor’s degree.” She enrolled in the Business and Leadership program at Hampton College, and in spite of panic attacks and hyperventilating in math class—“I stink at math. If my checkbook’s close, I’m happy!” she said—she completed the program and graduated with honors.

The case of Brianna

Working two jobs and going to college on the side, it took Brianna ten years to get her Associate’s degree. An energetic, expressive 38-year-old Hispanic woman who smiles and laughs easily, she believed in education but could fit in only a very few courses at a time. She kept plodding ahead though, she said, “just because I said I am going to do something instead of doing nothing, and it will add up sometime.” Three years after she received her Associate’s degree, her husband left her, and that changed everything. With two children to support, she realized that she had to go back to school and get her degree. She entered the Management and Ethics program at Denver College, even taking three classes as a time when she first started. “I was in a hurry!” she said as she smiled. She graduated from the course and is now teaching kindergarten and taking courses towards her teacher’s certification.

The case of Marianne

Marianne leaves no doubt as to why she enrolled in the Ministry and Ethics degree-completion program at Trenton College: “I did want to make more money.” She

was working as a pharmacy tech at the time and was hoping for advancement. That wasn’t the only reason she went back to college, however. “I value education whether you are going to be a shoemaker or glass cutter or [whatever].… I have always been an education enthusiast, and so I took the plunge.”

And the water was rough when she dove in. The same month she started her classes, she also started a new job, and her first grandchild was born. She had permanent house guests for 18 months during her studies and no car for five, but she persisted with the same directness she expresses in her speech. Although she faults the college for not doing more to incorporate the adult students into the larger student body, she still holds very good memories of her time there: She brought her class picture to the interview and could name each person in it. She graduated in the first module to complete the program.

The case of Anne

Anne is an organized, focused person who is active in her church, playing the clown in her church’s children’s ministry and teaching toddlers. She completed the Business and Leadership program at Hampton. She has worked as a hydraulics mechanic and aircraft technician at a military installation all her adult life. It wasn’t until she was hurt in a car wreck that she got serious about completing her degree. She was placed in a supervisory position, and in a very short time she realized that that wasn’t where she wanted to stay. She began to work resolutely at pursuing her degree, because she “wanted to have the skills to get a different job, somewhere else.”

She enrolled in a program at another college in which students studied four subjects at a time, meeting two nights a week for ten weeks. She followed that course for several semesters, but at one point, she became so overwhelmed that she was ready to quit her studies altogether. Then somebody told her that they could carpool to Hampton.

She checked it out, and what she saw convinced her to enroll: classes met one night a week, plus she got a discount on her tuition. She transferred, and she said, “It was the best experience I have had in college,” she said.

Summary: Career-related motivations for enrollment

These six individuals were impelled to enroll in a degree-completion program because of changes in their career situation. Lea faced a potential loss of employment; Samuel was looking towards potential new opportunities. Brianna felt she had no choice: she had to advance in order to take care of her family. Anne did not want to stay in a high-pressure post the rest of her career. Marianne was hoping for a larger salary, and Naomi wanted to be able to bid more jobs. In all cases, they saw that getting their degrees could help them accomplish their goals. The degree-completion program was the route they chose to reach that end.