Melissa and John Jordan like to do things together, including graduate school.
While getting their bachelor degrees (John, in civil engineering at West Virginia University; Melissa, accounting at Fairmont State University), they each worked summers at the West Virginia Division of Highways in Weston. They met there and still both work thereMelissa is a staff accountant and John is a Highway Engineer.
Now, they will attend Sundays (Dec. 12) WVU Convocation together, each watching the other receive an executive masters of business administration (EMBA) diploma from the College of Business and Economics.
The Jordans are among the first EMBA students to graduate from the Elkins distance learning site. They began work on their degree program in fall of 2002, when the Elkins site was set up at the West Virginia Wood Technology Center.
The Jordans live in Weston, about 40 miles west of Elkins. The distance learning classroom made it possible for them to earn their degrees without having to commute all the way to Morgantown.
It has been a goal of ours to earn our MBA ever since our undergrad days,Melissa said.When this program opened in Elkins, it seemed perfect. Getting to go through it together was an even bigger incentive to work that much harder and stick to it.
The executive MBA is a 30-month program for emerging business leaders already engaged in their careers and seeking to deepen their expertise. Candidates complete 48 credit hours in accounting, business law, economics, finance, management and marketing. The classes, held twice a week, originate from Morgantown and are offered at the local sites via interactive audio video.
Besides Elkins, WVU offers EMBA learning sites in Beckley, Charleston, Lewisburg, Martinsburg, Moorefield, Morgantown, Parkersburg and Wheeling. Tracking cameras and microphones allow all students to interact with the professor and students at other sites.
The Wood Tech Center provided us with a wonderful distance classroom,John said.Distance learning took us some time to get used to, but eventually it became normal to us to see our classmates and professors via a television screen.
Both Melissa and John also appreciated the fact that sometimes their WVU professors made the trip to Elkins to originate the class from their site.
This was especially nice for a little one-on-one communication,Melissa said.It often allowed us to get a better understanding on the tougher issues, and it allowed the professors to see some of the challenges we face being at a distance site. The small classroom experience also allowed us to become close to our classmates, and they were a great support system as well.(more)
Juggling full-time work and graduate school is a real challenge, even when there is a spouse at home to help maintain the household. But John and Melissa managed it.
Their secret to success?
We had to learn to utilize our free time more effectively in order to keep our house in line,Melissa said.There were many times that we wondered if we had clean clothes for the next day.
Also,John added,the professors were very accommodating. They understood the pressure of working full time and attending classes.
Some couples might find so much togetherness difficult, but not the Jordans. Their relationship was strengthened by being students together.
We learned a lot about each other and how we act in our professional lives,Melissa said.It was great to always have a study partner. We each had strengths and weaknesses, and often one of our strengths was the other’s weakness and vice versa. We were able to help each other out a great deal.
Was it worth the hard work and hectic schedules? Both the Jordans seem to think so.
We both learned more about ourselves personally and professionally than we ever could have imagined,Melissa said.
Post graduation, the Jordans are hoping to advance within the Division of Highways. John has already moved up from a Level 1 Highway Engineer to a Level 3. Melissa is thinking about teaching some evening college classes.