by Travis Johnson, MSCSA President, Student at Lake Superior College 

Getting to college after high school was a challenge for me initially. Right after graduation, I got a job I really enjoyed, I was on my own, and a post-secondary education was not a priority. Life was just as I had pictured it would be, given my upbringing in a family that was blue collar and didn't historically attend college. 

Unfortunately, two years after I thought I had a job that was secure, I found myself unemployed. I decided at that time to seriously give college a try. I had taken a couple of courses here and there, so it must not be that difficult, right? So, off to college I went. I struggled through my first year, particularly due to outside factors, including motivation, peers, and my desire to still work a job just as many hours as I had before I started school. My second year of college proved that relocating to another city and attending college was the best thing I could have done for myself if I intended on completing a degree.

My second year was a complete 180 degree difference from my first, and I was successfully getting through college. However, I also found that I could still work while going to college, so I wondered what the world of online would provide for me, given my previous lack of motivation. I ventured into it and enrolled the next semester in a couple of online courses just to test it. It turns out that I really enjoyed it, so I moved to full-online enrollment. Since then, I've been able to balance my student leadership positions, work almost full-time, and get my degree. 

The caveat here is that online learning isn't for everyone. I've heard from many students that they prefer the in-class experience and from others that online learning is the way the way to go. If you have the motivation to determine your own schedule, meet deadlines without attending an in-person class, and feel like using a computer to get through college is appealing to you, I would suggest it. The flexibility that online learning offers is great for people with extremely busy lives.