Professionals laud Tri-State Graduate Center
By Jenny Welp, Journal staff writer | Posted: Sunday, January 29, 2006
Juline Albert, associate dean of students at Western Iowa Tech, oversees the school's library and resource center. Albert attended the Tri-State Graduate Center. (Staff photo by Jerry Mennenga)
Amy Benson wanted to take master's degree courses to help her be an even better teacher at Anthon-Oto Elementary School.
But she didn't want the traditional master's program schedule. She wasn't willing to leave her 2-year-old in child care all summer while she spent her vacation time in school herself.
That's how Benson ended up at the Tri-State Graduate Center, an agency that has worked for the last 15 years to make graduate degrees more accessible to Siouxlanders.
In honor of that 15-year anniversary, area professionals shared how the center has helped them advance their careers in ways that might not have been possible otherwise.
Making dreams come true
Juline Albert dreamt of getting her doctorate way back when she was a student at Western Iowa Tech Community College. She didn't know then if she'd ever do it, but it was always a dream.
It wasn't until about six years ago -- when she was about 40 -- that Albert saw a Tri-State Graduate Center booklet listing the range of university programs available to Siouxlanders.
Albert paged through the booklet, did some research and decided she wanted to get her doctorate in higher education, administration, curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in leadership from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
With the demands of a family and her job as department chair for Little Priest Tribal College in Winnebago, Neb., Albert knew she couldn't drive the six-hour round trip for classes in Lincoln, Neb.
The Tri-State Graduate Center booklet revealed that she wouldn't have to do all that driving. She could take all the classes she needed for her doctorate on-line.
"I do remember thinking, 'I might really have a chance to do this,'" Albert said.
She started coursework for her doctorate in January 1999.
About eight months later, Albert landed a job as director of the TRIO Support Services Program at WIT. It helps first-generation college students and also those who are disabled or come from low-income families.
A few years later, Albert applied to be the school's associate dean of students.
"I felt like because I was three years into my graduate study at the time, I would make a good candidate, so I applied for it," she said.
Well, Albert got the job, and in June of 2004 finally achieved the dream of getting her doctorate. She even earned the Outstanding Dissertation/Thesis Award from the National Association of Developmental Education's Research Committee for her dissertation on "Faculty Perceptions of Underprepared Students in Iowa Community Colleges."
Albert considers her doctorate as much a personal achievement as a professional achievement. She said she appreciates the Tri-State Graduate Center for helping her reach this goal.
"It brought the possibility to my backyard," she said. "I probably would not have been able to ever work on a Ph.D. if the on-line option had not been available."
Opening doors
It was only about 12 years ago that Chris Bogenrief graduated from Morningside College.
But he's already gotten his master's degree and become president of United Commercial Real Estate and the Downtown Sioux City Rotary Club.
He said the Tri-State Graduate Center opened doors for him to help make all this possible.
While working for a company that would pay for him to get his master's degree, Bogenrief asked the graduate center to help him take advantage of the opportunity.
"I depended on them a lot in the beginning," said Bogenrief, 34. "They made it much easier to decide which program to go with."
Once Bogenrief decided on a master's degree in business from the University of South Dakota at Vermillion, the graduate center directed him to colleges in the area that could help him complete some undergraduate prerequisites.
Then he was off and on his way.
Six years and three kids later, Bogenrief earned his master's degree without ever having to leave Sioux City. Usually, his professors would drive down from Vermillion for an evening class with 20 or 30 students.
Often the professors would assign projects to groups of four or five students, Bogenrief remembered. He said he liked having his classmates right around Sioux City, rather than in Vermillion or Omaha.
"It's much easier if you can just stay local," he said.
Bogenrief said many of his classmates had good jobs with large companies in town, so he also got the opportunity to do some networking.
"You learn as much from your classmates in a lot of those classes as you do from the professors," he said. "I still stay in contact with some of them."
Now as the manager of a small brokerage company, Bogenrief believes his master's degree gives his peers more confidence in him and the work he can do. He said he always wanted to get a master's degree in business, but he may never have done it had it not been for the Tri-State Graduate Center.
"They made it easy enough that I went ahead and did it," he said.
Embracing technology
Bogenrief liked studying with Siouxlanders, and Lesley Bartholomew enjoyed a statewide classroom over the Iowa Communication Network.
The way it worked, Bartholomew and a couple of other students met in Sioux City for the University of Northern Iowa's master's program in public relations.
With the ICN, they'd watch on television as their instructor -- or other students -- made comments. Then their classmates could see them on television as they responded.
"I liked the ICN because it really felt like a class," said Bartholomew, 40.
As a working mom in Sioux City, Bartholomew appreciated the Tri-State Graduate Center directing her to this program. She called it much more convenient than traveling to Vermillion or Lincoln, where other public relations programs were offered.
Bartholomew also liked how the graduate center helped her get started on her master's degree. She said there was no long admission process. She didn't have to take any admittance tests.
"They cut through all that red tape, so it was easy for us to sign up and start taking classes," she said. "Working people didn't have to jump through all the hoops to get into a degree program."
Now the public relations manager for Wells Dairy in Le Mars, Bartholomew said the classes she took for her master's degree allow her to design better public relations programs for her employer.
"It's definitely provided me with more abilities as a public relations professional," she said.
Making it happen
Now the Tri-State Graduate Center is helping Benson.
The 31-year-old comes to classes in South Sioux City one weekend per month, working her way toward a master's degree in curriculum and instruction. She expects to complete the program within two years.
In the meantime, a classmate who teaches in South Sioux City shared with Benson a unit to help her teach addition and subtraction. And Benson shared with another teacher a middle school unit that makes poetry more exciting.
She said her master's degree courses -- and her classmates -- are already helping her become a better teacher.
"I'm so inspired to come back (to school) on Monday morning," she said.
But she didn't want the traditional master's program schedule. She wasn't willing to leave her 2-year-old in child care all summer while she spent her vacation time in school herself.
That's how Benson ended up at the Tri-State Graduate Center, an agency that has worked for the last 15 years to make graduate degrees more accessible to Siouxlanders.
In honor of that 15-year anniversary, area professionals shared how the center has helped them advance their careers in ways that might not have been possible otherwise.
Making dreams come true
Juline Albert dreamt of getting her doctorate way back when she was a student at Western Iowa Tech Community College. She didn't know then if she'd ever do it, but it was always a dream.
It wasn't until about six years ago -- when she was about 40 -- that Albert saw a Tri-State Graduate Center booklet listing the range of university programs available to Siouxlanders.
Albert paged through the booklet, did some research and decided she wanted to get her doctorate in higher education, administration, curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in leadership from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
With the demands of a family and her job as department chair for Little Priest Tribal College in Winnebago, Neb., Albert knew she couldn't drive the six-hour round trip for classes in Lincoln, Neb.
The Tri-State Graduate Center booklet revealed that she wouldn't have to do all that driving. She could take all the classes she needed for her doctorate on-line.
"I do remember thinking, 'I might really have a chance to do this,'" Albert said.
She started coursework for her doctorate in January 1999.
About eight months later, Albert landed a job as director of the TRIO Support Services Program at WIT. It helps first-generation college students and also those who are disabled or come from low-income families.
A few years later, Albert applied to be the school's associate dean of students.
"I felt like because I was three years into my graduate study at the time, I would make a good candidate, so I applied for it," she said.
Well, Albert got the job, and in June of 2004 finally achieved the dream of getting her doctorate. She even earned the Outstanding Dissertation/Thesis Award from the National Association of Developmental Education's Research Committee for her dissertation on "Faculty Perceptions of Underprepared Students in Iowa Community Colleges."
Albert considers her doctorate as much a personal achievement as a professional achievement. She said she appreciates the Tri-State Graduate Center for helping her reach this goal.
"It brought the possibility to my backyard," she said. "I probably would not have been able to ever work on a Ph.D. if the on-line option had not been available."
Opening doors
It was only about 12 years ago that Chris Bogenrief graduated from Morningside College.
But he's already gotten his master's degree and become president of United Commercial Real Estate and the Downtown Sioux City Rotary Club.
He said the Tri-State Graduate Center opened doors for him to help make all this possible.
While working for a company that would pay for him to get his master's degree, Bogenrief asked the graduate center to help him take advantage of the opportunity.
"I depended on them a lot in the beginning," said Bogenrief, 34. "They made it much easier to decide which program to go with."
Once Bogenrief decided on a master's degree in business from the University of South Dakota at Vermillion, the graduate center directed him to colleges in the area that could help him complete some undergraduate prerequisites.
Then he was off and on his way.
Six years and three kids later, Bogenrief earned his master's degree without ever having to leave Sioux City. Usually, his professors would drive down from Vermillion for an evening class with 20 or 30 students.
Often the professors would assign projects to groups of four or five students, Bogenrief remembered. He said he liked having his classmates right around Sioux City, rather than in Vermillion or Omaha.
"It's much easier if you can just stay local," he said.
Bogenrief said many of his classmates had good jobs with large companies in town, so he also got the opportunity to do some networking.
"You learn as much from your classmates in a lot of those classes as you do from the professors," he said. "I still stay in contact with some of them."
Now as the manager of a small brokerage company, Bogenrief believes his master's degree gives his peers more confidence in him and the work he can do. He said he always wanted to get a master's degree in business, but he may never have done it had it not been for the Tri-State Graduate Center.
"They made it easy enough that I went ahead and did it," he said.
Embracing technology
Bogenrief liked studying with Siouxlanders, and Lesley Bartholomew enjoyed a statewide classroom over the Iowa Communication Network.
The way it worked, Bartholomew and a couple of other students met in Sioux City for the University of Northern Iowa's master's program in public relations.
With the ICN, they'd watch on television as their instructor -- or other students -- made comments. Then their classmates could see them on television as they responded.
"I liked the ICN because it really felt like a class," said Bartholomew, 40.
As a working mom in Sioux City, Bartholomew appreciated the Tri-State Graduate Center directing her to this program. She called it much more convenient than traveling to Vermillion or Lincoln, where other public relations programs were offered.
Bartholomew also liked how the graduate center helped her get started on her master's degree. She said there was no long admission process. She didn't have to take any admittance tests.
"They cut through all that red tape, so it was easy for us to sign up and start taking classes," she said. "Working people didn't have to jump through all the hoops to get into a degree program."
Now the public relations manager for Wells Dairy in Le Mars, Bartholomew said the classes she took for her master's degree allow her to design better public relations programs for her employer.
"It's definitely provided me with more abilities as a public relations professional," she said.
Making it happen
Now the Tri-State Graduate Center is helping Benson.
The 31-year-old comes to classes in South Sioux City one weekend per month, working her way toward a master's degree in curriculum and instruction. She expects to complete the program within two years.
In the meantime, a classmate who teaches in South Sioux City shared with Benson a unit to help her teach addition and subtraction. And Benson shared with another teacher a middle school unit that makes poetry more exciting.
She said her master's degree courses -- and her classmates -- are already helping her become a better teacher.
"I'm so inspired to come back (to school) on Monday morning," she said.
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Joy wrote on Oct 9, 2006 11:55 PM: