Colorado Tech Online Students and Alumni
Meet Staff Sergeant Brian Wallace
Bachelor of Science in Information Technology with a concentration in Network Management
As an active member of the U.S. Army, Staff Sergeant Brian Wallace can be reassigned - whether to a new duty station in the U.S. or to Iraq or Afghanistan - at a moment's notice. "I wanted to get my college degree and, needing a school that I can go to anywhere, anytime, the only option I had was online," he says.
Busy with his job working as an administrator overseeing a prison guard force, Brian left the task of researching exactly which online university he should attend to his wife, who was going to earn her degree at the same time. Brian's wife came back to him with one option, Colorado Technical University Online.
After checking out the specifics of CTU's Information Technology/Network Management program – Brian was certain that was the field he wanted his degree in. Brian agreed and was a college student for the second time in his life. (Immediately after high school, Brian was admitted to and enrolled at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He spent three years studying Computer Science there, but earned only four semester's worth of credits. "I didn't have any discipline," he says. He dropped out and joined the Army.)
Like many, Brian didn't only find a job in the Army, but discipline as well. "I knew an online education would require serious discipline, but after nine years in the Army, I had no doubt that I had the discipline I needed. I've commanded soldiers. I've dealt with maximum-security inmates. I set an example for other people. I can handle school work."
Brian says he's excelling at Colorado Tech Online now – he's carrying a 3.8 GPA -- not only because of the discipline he has learned, but also because the learning format suits him better than a traditional one. "Being able to see everything right in front of me and go back and reference or reread anything I need to works much better for me than sitting in a classroom did. I remember I would get lost in a classroom. That doesn't happen at Colorado Tech Online."
Brian also finds Colorado Tech Online to be understanding and flexible when things pop up for him at work. "My instructors have been very understanding of my situation, of the fact I'm in the military. When something comes up, they're happy to work with me and my schedule."
Evidently Brian's discipline and Colorado Tech Online's flexibility are a good match. Brian has already taken some of what he has learned through Colorado Tech Online and used it at work to create an Access database that tracks important reports. "Everything was such a disorganized mess before," he says.
Brian's new skills have caught the attention of co-workers. Several have put in a formal requisition for Brian to be temporarily assigned to a post where he could create a database for the entire military corrections system.
"Being able to apply what I've learned and have people take notice of it, well, it's actually kind of exciting."
While Brian is content in the military for now, around the time he will graduate from Colorado Tech Online with his Bachelor of Science degree he will have the option of retiring from the Army. "Part of the reason I picked Information Technology is because I know it's an in-demand field in the civilian world. The assignment to the military-wide database sounds like it could be challenging too though."
"Whatever I end up doing, I know I'll be prepared."
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