Student Stories: How do you DEGREE UP?

My name is Allyson Owen and here is my story.

Fresh out of high school, my educational experience started at the UW-Oshkosh campus. I walked in thinking it was going to be such a great experience, but I ended up being incredibly homesick.

This quickly led to me skipping a lot of classes and a poor work ethic. Before I knew it, I was put on academic probation. One weekend I went back home and had a traumatic hair coloring incident. Afterward, I decided I wanted to understand how hair color worked and enrolled in Mid-State Technical College’s Cosmetology program for the spring semester.

Although I loved the beauty industry, it was only a few years into my career that I realized I didn’t want my job forever. Having been so comfortable and successful with MSTC for cosmetology, I decided to start taking some general courses there while I thought about the next steps of my education. It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with everything the marketing program at MSTC had to offer.

Marketing allowed me to be creative and still work directly with customers while offering more career opportunities. I had wonderful, influential instructors at MSTC. They had more confidence in me than I had in myself. They encouraged me to continue my education and helped me set the goal of working toward my MBA after I achieve my associate and bachelor’s degrees.

When I started looking into bachelor’s degree programs, finding the right fit did not prove to be as easy as I thought. Throughout my educational experience, I have always worked full-time. I had just started a new job in my hometown of Marshfield, WI working Monday through Friday so I wanted to go to a school close to home.

Additionally, I had taken many courses through MSTC and did not want to lose those credits in the transfer process. I had already completed a few online courses through MSTC, so I wasn’t against an online program, but also wanted to ensure the school I chose was accredited and had a strong reputation with employers.

While contemplating my decision, my marketing instructor from MSTC approached me about DEGREE UP, a dual enrollment program with Herzing University. I was hesitant but decided to meet with their recruiter just to see what it was all about. During my meeting, I was beyond impressed with everything they had to offer and by the end of the meeting was completely on board. I was able to keep all of my credits and receive my degree while working full time in Marshfield.

Even though I go to school remotely, I have built strong relationships with my advisors, instructors, and financial aid staff at Herzing. They have made the transfer and dual enrollment processes so easy for me! Currently, I am even enrolled in MBA level-courses that will help fulfill credits while paying undergraduate tuition prices.