UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Marine Corps veteran Jessica Page wanted to pursue her degree online from a reputable university that understood the challenges of balancing life with a military family.
So, the mother of a 4-year-old daughter and wife to an active-duty soldier turned to Penn State World Campus to help her accomplish her goals.
“Penn State was one of the top colleges when I researched schools that were good with the military,” said Page, 31, who served seven years in the Marines. “I needed a skill set to get a job once my daughter started school and wanted something on my résumé that would stand out. I knew people would know Penn State.”
Page graduated Saturday, Dec. 15, with a bachelor of science in business that she pursued online through Penn State World Campus. She was one of the more than 1,200 World Campus students to receive their degrees during the University’s fall commencement.
Page, who retired from the Marines as a sergeant in 2014, finished her degree while living in Kansas, where her husband, Roy, serves in the Army. She enrolled at Penn State in 2014 when her husband was stationed in Pensacola, Florida, and her family moved twice — to Alabama and Kansas — while she pursued her degree.
She said she usually took three to four courses per semester. Time management was critical for her success as she balanced raising her daughter, Natalie, and her husband fulfilling his military obligations.
“There were a lot of late nights, especially when my husband was gone for training or was in flight school,” she said. “I tried to schedule everything so there was the least amount of conflicts. I usually did school work from 7 p.m. until 1 or 2 in the morning.”
Page, who wants to work as a financial adviser, said she first pursued her bachelor’s in 2005 before stopping and trying again in 2010. When she enrolled though Penn State World Campus, she said it was the right time for her to earn her degree, and Penn State was the right choice.
“It was a little bit of me and Penn State,” Page said of her changed attitude and success. “I was older, more mature and more responsible. It helped me take classes online, and I was more of the mindset that I needed to get a degree.”
Visit the Penn State World Campus website for more information.