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Ann Marie Ulery
My name is Ann Marie Ulery, I am a 25-year-old mother and military wife currently located at Little Rock Air Force Base. I have a 2-year-old, 7-year-old step-daughter and POA of my best friend's daughter while she and her husband are currently deployed in Iraq until early next year. I had to put school on hold due to my husbands uncalling duty to serve his country and my uncalling duty to support him. With my husband being deployed on and of over he past 2 years, had to double up and be mommy and daddy all alone, school couldn't be a factor when I was alone to raise my family.
I yearn to complete my degree for it is something I have as an everyday goal. Finish school. Finishing school is very important to me. You cannot exceed in life financially without a degree. No matter what program or system is created telling that you can work at home and make millions, you can't it's not real. We can all live our lives like Paris Hilton, walking around being famous and wild! WE all have responsibilities, I have responsibilities. I cannot fail my children, for I choose to be successful in all that I encounter in my life.
Yes things do happen where you may have to make some rearrangements but there is a time to bring certain things back, such as getting my degree. Getting an education and most importantly an online education is one of the best options I have seen for myself in the earning your career world! I can attend class and attend to my family without having put a pause to school.
I currently work as a part time manager in a retail store for plus size women. Due to the change in our economy, the company I work for is making drastic changes. Some weeks hours are cut and sales are shortened. I have to prove everyday I can provide excellent customer service so I am not seen as an “option” but as a great manager who provides customer service. But as much as I enjoy my job it is not a career based job, I get paid by the hour and unlike my store manager I don’t receive a bonus. I know that getting my degree will help ensure me of a job that will give me great benefits and salary pay.
Everyday I apply for jobs that at least make up to $11.00 per hour and that are full time for I fear of losing my current job because we have lost customers due to the harsh changes in our economy. I constantly worry about being rejected on certain interviews due to employer seeing I do not have a degree listed on my resume. We all know it is a higher possibility that someone can choose a potential employee based on whether or not they have a degree. I refuse to be denied anymore….
As a mother and a wife online schools has brought so much relief to the at home or working mothers. We no longer sit in the shadows as just a mother trying to get buy, we are the powerhouse multi-tasking how women handle work, education, and life in this struggling economy. I am proud to be a powerhouse factor in this world and completing my education will help me change and mold my life, community, and possibly the world.
About Victoria
Hello. I was born and raised in Indiana, and am the youngest of four children. When I was growing up, I had to help my oldest sister a lot because she is a person with disabilities. We got really close, and she taught me a lot about women's history, and how to take pride in being a strong woman. After high school, I enrolled at Smith, a small liberal arts women's college. At my school, I studied alongside non-traditional students, who taught me things that weren't in our lectures. The non-traditional students were women 25+. They were mothers, wives, divorcees, widows, sisters, aunts, nieces. Our oldest graduate earned her degree at age 83! Today, I am a New Jerseyan working at eLearners.com, helping build a website that is dedicated to non-traditional students enrolling in online degree programs.