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Kaplan University
Willie Jackson
Software developer
Class of 2011, bachelor’s degree in information systems and technology
Kaplan University
In 1994, Willie Jackson was a star athlete attending the University of Nebraska Omaha on a football scholarship.
“I was a very good football player, and a lot of people expected me to go pro,” he said. “This being the case, I went the route that a lot of collegiate athletes go and took a lot of easy classes. Furthermore, my major (communications) was chosen by one of the assistant football coaches.”
Jackson explained that once his college football days were over and it was time to find a job, he found himself welding trucks instead of playing ball. While he worked his way up in the automobile industry, becoming a production team lead for a vehicle manufacturing supply company, Jackson still felt as if he was underachieving by working in such an environment. Before he knew it, more than a decade had passed and he was a single father, working 10 hours a day at a job that he found very unfulfilling.
“Unfortunately, I put my dreams of going pro ahead of my opportunity to earn a degree,” he said. “After realizing that my last job was going nowhere, I decided to go back to school and finish what I started.”
Interested in information technology, Jackson looked into a local technical institute. But after contacting an advisor and discussing class schedules, he realized that between his work schedule and parental responsibilities, on-campus courses simply weren’t going to work out. Disappointed that going to class was going to be more difficult than he had originally thought, he put his search for the right school on hold. But one day, while watching TV, Jackson saw an advertisement for online schools that sparked his interest. Intrigued, he decided to do some research and learn more about online education.
“The TV commercial that sparked my interest was for a website that gathered information on different online universities,” he said. “I went to the website just to check it out and ended up enrolling in Kaplan about a month later.”
Jackson explained that Kaplan University was the best choice because the online delivery platform made it possible for him to pick up his kids after work and virtually take them to class with him. And this time, rather than allowing someone else to choose his major for him, Jackson decided to pursue a degree in general technology so he could have a career he could be passionate about. It was in this degree program that he enrolled in the introduction to programming course that would help him discover his true calling.
“I have always been very creative. I first thought that Web design would end up being my calling. But programming is just as creative, except in a logical instead of artistic way, which was perfect for me,” he explained. “I took a long time to find a new career that I would want to work toward. Once I found programming, there was no hesitation.”
Life as a full-time student and employee was challenging, and most weekdays were long and busy, Jackson said. Waking up at 3:30 a.m., he would drop off his kids and be at work by 5 a.m. each day. It was not until after he put in a full day at his job that he would be free to work until 10 p.m. on class assignments, which usually involved programming for console, Web, and database applications.
“At Kaplan, I only took two classes at a time,” he said. “However, they crammed a whole semester’s worth of material into 10 weeks. As a programming major, I have to say that a lot of the assignments were very challenging.”
Jackson graduated in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in Information Systems and Technology with an emphasis in programming and set out to begin his new career. While on the job hunt, he said that he used his online education to prove to recruiters and hiring managers that he was dedicated and willing to do whatever it took to be successful. His hard work paid off, and Jackson quickly landed a job as an EDI developer for a company that creates online benefits enrollment and administration systems. As a software professional, he is responsible for programming his company’s computer system to communicate with client computer systems to provide information that is vital to the management of their companies.
“I was drawn to the position because it gives me an excellent opportunity to continue to learn and advance with a growing company,” he said. “Without my education, I never would have had a chance to land this job. My bachelor’s degree opened a ton of doors for me. While I admit that most of those doors were hard to get through with no experience, my degree did allow me to peek in and ask for a chance.”
Today, Jackson continues to enjoy his career in programming, and he joked that other than the slight weight gain, his job behind the desk is much better than the job where he was standing on concrete and pushing metal all day.
“Reaching my goal was a long tough road, and there were plenty of times when I was not sure if I would make it,” he said. “But in the end, it was all worth it.”
