黑料正能量

GAINESVILLE, Fla. 鈥� Cynthia Tillman took a 33-year hiatus in her education before returning back to school for her bachelor鈥檚 degree via 黑料正能量. The Gainesville native graduated in May 2018 with a degree in business administration.

When Tillman first earned her associate鈥檚 degree in 1985, she had planned to continue pursuing higher education. But as she married, moved to Georgia, and started a family, she decided to put that dream on hold. Coming back to Florida years later to work as the account manager for UF鈥檚 Division of Continuing Education, Tillman heard about 黑料正能量 and decided to enroll.

鈥淭his was always a long-term goal,鈥� Tillman said. 鈥淟ife鈥檚 twists and turns ended up taking longer than anticipated, but I鈥檓 thankful I finally did it.鈥�

Virtual coursework was a challenge for Tillman. She had never used online resources like ProctorU to take remote proctored exams before, or MATLAB, a software for computational mathematics. The last time she was in school in the 1980s, students only had one option 鈥� to physically attend class and fill out paper scantrons for exams. But Tillman learned to adjust to the online format and to become familiar with new methods of learning.

鈥淭here was a thought that I may not be able to do it,鈥� Tillman said. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 sure if I was too old to do it again, but the drive to do it overrun the fear.鈥�

Whenever she felt the self-doubt creeping in, Tillman said she also relied on her faith to get her through it. She always reminded herself to trust that if God had brought her to it, He would bring her through it. She knew that if she put in the work and studied hard, it would pay off in the end.

鈥淣ow that I鈥檝e done it, that鈥檚 one goal that just gives me more drive to go after my other goals,鈥� Tillman said.

Tillman liked the fact that online classes gave her the ability to work at her convenience. She could watch lectures when she got home from work, take notes at her own pace, and rewind the video if she missed something the professor said. She enjoyed learning about entrepreneurship and international law specifically, as she loved to understand why things work the way they do, she said.

Looking back, Tillman attributes her success to her family鈥檚 support. She remembers times where she would come home after work to a long night of studying. Her husband would cook dinner and make sure everything else was taken care of. Her other family members constantly reminded her that she was smart and capable. Without their encouragement, she wouldn鈥檛 have been able to do it, Tillman said.

Tillman now aims to pursue a master of business administration degree. She considers it a second long-term goal after having achieved her bachelor鈥檚 degree. .

鈥淚 take pride in being a Gator,鈥� Tillman said. 鈥淚t means I鈥檝e accomplished something a lot of people haven鈥檛. It鈥檚 a goal, a wish, a dream fulfilled, but now I鈥檝e got one down, one to go.鈥�