When Jaime Campbell, a busy working mom in California, wanted to find the right college after a 20-year break, Tiffin University checked all the boxes. Read how TU helped her achieve her dreams and how she inspires others to do the same.
When I graduated from high school, I had the lofty dreams of many college freshmen and pursued my first major in a field I was passionate about. As a 4.0 honors student, I knew how to work hard. Halfway through my first semester at a state university, I realized that even though I loved music, it did not mean I was going to love studying it or working in that field. In my first three years of school, I changed my major five times. My advisor suggested I take some time off, go to work and come back after I had something to focus on.
Twenty years later, I was very successful in my career and achieved the highest level possible in my field. Working really hard, being a reliable employee and a good team player were great assets, but they were not enough. I was now hiring people who were much younger than me and were very well-educated into entry-level positions. By this time, I was a wife and mother of two children. I knew they would need a college education just to enter the workforce, but how could I require that if I hadn’t done it? I needed to set the example.
I decided to go back to school, but with our schedule, it had to be 100% online. I searched for a school for about eight months because I needed to ensure it was the right fit. As a full-time employee, wife and hockey mom, I needed a supportive, flexible, online education. When I found Tiffin University, I knew it was what I needed. TU has incredible online programs—completely online—with no residency requirements. It was important to me that my college has a physical campus where I could visit and walk at graduation. Tiffin University has everything: undergraduate and graduate programs, students living on campus (with residence halls, sports, theatre, etc.) and extended learning and virtual students.
When I found Tiffin University, I knew it was what I needed. TU has incredible online programs—completely online—with no residency requirements.
It was also important that I get as much credit as possible for the college courses I completed 20 years ago. TU was very transfer friendly. But the biggest difference I found at Tiffin University was the advisors’ cultural commitment to adult online students. They treated me the same as if I had walked into their office on campus. They wanted to do everything possible to support me on my academic journey. Tiffin University checked all of my boxes. It was everything I needed.
Over a two-year period, I completed almost my entire bachelor’s degree. I went to school year-round (every night, every weekend) and did nearly every assignment (test, paper, homework, all of it) on a laptop in the car, a hotel or at an ice rink. I really connected with one of my TU instructors, Dr. Wendy Ziems-Mueller. We had similar experiences and she really “got me” and where I was in life. Dr. Ziems-Mueller has two young children too and spent many hours at her son’s baseball games in Ohio while I was at hockey games in California with mine. She repeatedly told me, “You have it in you. Just take it one day at a time and keep moving forward because TU is here to help you.” By connecting with me on a personal level, Dr. Ziems-Mueller was the main reason I felt I could continue and also earn my MBA from Tiffin University. Oh, I did go back and graduate at TU; I met many of my instructors and a few of my online classmates. My parents, my sons and my husband all got to see me walk. That was a huge day for all of us.
My biggest takeaway from Tiffin University is that everyone there is invested in every student’s success, whether they are on campus, off campus or virtual. No one at TU is going to fail, unless they choose it, because the people there won’t give up unless you do. Now that I have completed my MBA and bachelor’s degrees, I want to give back to TU and its students. I am so proud to be a Tiffin University alumna because it truly changed my life. I know there are other current and prospective TU students who just need to be encouraged the way I was.
You can do it, you have it in you, just do it one day at a time.
Every journey starts with the first step. Get started today!