Story: Phillip Tutor | Photo: Submitted
Canada enjoyed the experience of earning her master’s degree through UWA Online
Had she preferred, Olivia Canada could have chosen an easier path to a master鈥檚 degree at the . She could have taken her time, enjoyed the process, made a few memories. But that wasn鈥檛 her choice.
Instead, she sprinted through her UWA Online program in a year by taking two courses each term, all while working 13-hour shifts as a full-time veterinary technician. Sleep was rare. And this weekend she鈥檚 rewarding herself by traveling to Livingston for the university鈥檚 commencement ceremonies.
The catch?
Canada, who lives in聽Converse, Texas, has never been to UWA鈥檚 campus or the city of Livingston — or baby直播, for that matter. Louisiana is as close to UWA as she鈥檚 ever been, and that鈥檚 not next door.聽
鈥淚 felt like I really pushed myself to get this degree, and I was pretty proud of myself for doing it so quickly and efficiently,鈥� Canada said. 鈥淚 even ended up with a 4.0 (grade-point average), which I was excited about.鈥�
UWA鈥檚 fall commencement exercises will take place Saturday in three campus ceremonies: 10 a.m. for undergraduate degree candidates; 1 p.m. for master鈥檚 and doctoral degree candidates in education; and 4 p.m. for all other master鈥檚 and education specialist candidates.
Canada, who will receive a master鈥檚 degree in conservation biology, didn鈥檛 have to make the tiresome trip from her home near San Antonio. But her husband, Aaron, and parents encouraged her to don a UWA cap and gown at commencement — because she earned it, they felt, and they wanted to enjoy the experience with her.
鈥淲hile I was taking courses, I even told my husband, 鈥業 want to go to campus and at least see the place I just got this degree from, to actually say I’ve been there, and meet a couple of my professors.”
Olivia Canada
UWA鈥檚 robust online degree programs often graduate students like Canada — students outside of the university鈥檚 geographical region who are unfamiliar with campus and its surroundings.
鈥淚鈥檓 very humble when it comes to that kind stuff,鈥� Canada said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 necessarily like being the center of attention. But they were like, 鈥榊ou should be proud of this,鈥� and I was like, 鈥榊ou know what, I should be proud of this, and I kind of want to commemorate that in some way.鈥� It also gave me an excuse to actually go to campus.鈥�
Canada, who holds a bachelor鈥檚 degree in biomedical science from Texas A&M University, considered several universities — online and on-campus — for her graduate degree. One was Texas State University near her home, but she knew her hectic work schedule would likely mesh better with online programs that offered flexibility. Google searches for conservation and biology programs led her to notice UWA, she said.
鈥淚nitially, I was looking for any kind of master鈥檚 program that was going to help me bring my GPA up and also be something I was interested in, because I was initially going to go to veterinary school after this,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut once I actually got into the program, I really liked what I was learning more than I liked veterinary medicine.鈥�
At first, Canada found the process tricky because of her higher-education background. Texas A&M is the United States鈥� largest public university — incomparable, numbers-wise, with UWA — and she was inexperienced with online classes. But she credits her advisors and faculty in Livingston with helping her navigate an online schedule from 750 miles away.
鈥淚 constantly got phone calls with my academic advisor prior to the start, and she was in communication with me through email, too, so I felt like I was as getting the communication I would have gotten had I been on campus,鈥� she said. 鈥淥nce I got into the courses, for the most part the professors were very open to communicating and very open to doing Zoom calls and things like that to make it easier.鈥�
Last Christmas, Canada鈥檚 stepmother gave her two UWA shirts, a sartorial link between a future alumna and an unseen campus. What Canada knows about Livingston is that the city is 鈥減retty small鈥� and the campus 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 have a ton of students,鈥� especially when compared to her mega-sized first alma mater.
This weekend, she鈥檒l experience it all for herself.
鈥淲hile I was taking courses, I even told my husband, 鈥業 want to go to campus and at least see the place I just got this degree from, to actually say I’ve been there, and meet a couple of my professors,鈥欌�� Canada said.