Colorado Tech Online Students and Alumni
Meet Stacy Studstill
Master of Science in Management
Before enrolling in the Master of Science in Management degree program offered through Colorado Tech Online, Stacy Studstill already had an impressive list of professional achievements. His most noteworthy may be the completion of the lead role on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's "Trilogy" project, which involved updating their information systems and processes to support their expanding role in intelligence collection, analysis, and anti-terrorism operations.
Despite his professional achievements and years of technical experience in information technology, Stacy felt that continuing his education could help him improve both professionally and personally. "I have a lot of hands-on technical experience and some management experience. But I felt that I was missing something in my educational background, or perhaps missing a particular skill set that would help me advance further in my career. I wanted to explore more areas in my professional field and earning an advanced degree would help me do that. Of course, the potential to increase my earnings was also a consideration."
Since continuing his education was an important decision, but not an immediately pressing matter for Stacy, he carefully researched several institutions, some brick and mortar, some online and some offering a combination of both. "Deciding to enroll in a Master's degree program was a big decision for me, so I put careful thought into it. After looking at many options, I chose Colorado Tech Online because it offers a degree program that is very relevant to my profession and because everyone I spoke with who had experiences with Colorado Tech Online spoke very highly of it."
Despite his extensive research, Stacy still was not sure what to expect when it came to navigating the Virtual Campus on a daily basis. As it turned out, the flexibility of online learning, combined with many helpful features on the Virtual Campus offered through Colorado Tech Online "made it an ideal format for me. Online learning fit my schedule very well, which was important for me. But what was most important to me was that I got more out of the courses at Colorado Tech Online that I ever have from taking courses in a traditional classroom setting. I did more research using the academic databases that are available at my fingertips through the library on the Virtual Campus than I ever would have in a traditional library. The course materials and scenarios are very relevant to my profession. There is a perfect balance between use of project management skills, business management skills and the technical course work. It is exactly what I am experiencing professionally and acquiring new knowledge and skills have helped me to advance in my career."
When he enrolled in Colorado Tech Online, Stacy had a position that involved information systems security, which is a dynamic and rapidly changing field. Keeping pace in that profession can be very challenging. "The rapid changes in systems security were getting increasingly more difficult to keep up with. My courses at Colorado Tech Online dealt with technical issues in systems security that helped me keep up with what is going on in the real world. I was given more responsibilities in my position as a direct result of my increased technical knowledge and the project management methodologies that I learned through my courses. My technical skills were validated by my degree and I was able to apply the additional management skills I acquired to advancing in my career."
Stacy currently is a Technical Account Manager for the Microsoft Corporation. He handles several large accounts, managing information security as well as the overall network infrastructure. "Earning a degree through Colorado Tech Online not only directly led to increased responsibilities for me, but also to a promotion. In addition to handling systems security, I make sure our clients get the administrative support they need in order to handle information technology projects. I previously worked on the technical, systems side of projects and only informally managed projects and staff. As an account manager, I have expanded my responsibilities and interact with upper management regarding the direction of projects for my clients. In addition to addressing functional issues with products, I am now in a position to provide input that pertains to direction of projects and product development. My increased responsibilities have given me more confidence in handling large projects and more confidence in myself, not to mention a significantly higher salary."
Stacy has some words of advice for those of you who are considering continuing your education. "In my opinion, continuing your education through Colorado Tech Online is one of the most positive steps you can take. It is a special invitation. The Virtual Campus is great, the degree programs are great and you can improve yourself academically, professionally and personally. If you use all the resources at your disposal through Colorado Tech Online, there are no limits to how much you can benefit from it."
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