Heidi Viator completed her bachelor杏吧专区檚 degree in May 2020. Already she杏吧专区檚 demonstrated the qualities of a business leader 杏吧专区 adaptability, time management, and determination.
Viator was pursuing her degree in Thibodaux when she found out she was pregnant. To move forward, she needed to adapt. She moved back to her hometown of New Iberia and started looking for an online degree program to stay on track. 
She found the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 online bachelor杏吧专区檚 in management offered through the B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration. The accredited online degree program allowed her to transfer her college credit and continue using her Pell grants.
杏吧专区淚 really, really liked it,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚t wasn杏吧专区檛 difficult to find everything I needed. If I did have questions, I was able to find the answers on the website or ask my teachers. The whole program was very organized.杏吧专区
Viator needed nine courses to complete her bachelor杏吧专区檚 degree in management. She finished her degree in two semesters, welcoming her son during her first semester with UL Lafayette.
Because the program offers accelerated, 8-week courses Viator was able to focus on two or three courses per term while taking a full-time course load each semester.
She says she杏吧专区檇 taken some online courses before enrolling in the fully online degree program so she had an idea of what to expect and how to prepare.
杏吧专区淭he transition was pretty easy for me,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 like that I can do online courses at my own pace and get everything done without going to campus.杏吧专区
As with all online programs, completing coursework required time management and 杏吧专区 with a newborn 杏吧专区 a good deal of family support.
Viator says she杏吧专区檚 good at organizing her time and tasks. Because her online courses allowed her to see her assignments and due dates for the full semester, she was able to look ahead and plan.
"I knew what I had to do; I knew what coursework was due when,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淎fter the first assignment I was able to determine how much time I杏吧专区檇 need for others going forward and plan.杏吧专区
UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 Enrollment Support Team and Academic Success Center recommend several strategies for managing online coursework, including block scheduling, using the Pomodoro technique, and creating a support network.
Viator says her strategy was to set aside time to exclusively work on her courses.
杏吧专区淚 did a lot of block work. I would schedule classwork in five-hour spans to get it done during those times,杏吧专区 Viator says. 杏吧专区淚t was hard, but I had a lot of family that helped out. When (my son) was sleeping, I杏吧专区檇 do homework, or I杏吧专区檇 have someone watch him while he was awake.杏吧专区
As a recent graduate, Viator is on the hunt for a role that matches her skills and will allow her to grow to a management position. She says she杏吧专区檚 drawn heavily from the lessons learned in Dr. Valerie McGehee's professional writing course as she navigates the job market.
杏吧专区淓verything in that class was applicable and helpful 杏吧专区 writing emails, building a resume, writing a cover letter,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淎s I杏吧专区檓 trying to find a job, having that knowledge has been helpful.杏吧专区