Class, Half A World Away

Written By: Ian Silvester

While most of her professors are getting ready for the second half of their day, Shatoya Freeman, a student enrolled in the Adult Degree Completion Program (ADCP) at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith, is just waking up.
 
Shatoya, like most of her ADCP classmates, commutes to class with the touch of a button and the clicking of keystrokes. Unlike most of her classmates, Shatoya is nearly 4,000 miles away. She is an active member of the US Army stationed in Hawaii, but her coursework began in the sands of the Middle East.
 
Deployed to Kuwait, Shatoya was hit with an educational epiphany. “I was going through the UAFS site and came across (the ADCP). So, I started looking into it, and I was like, ‘This is perfect for me!’”
 
Shatoya, 32, is from Fort Smith and earned credit at UAFS while attending Northside High School. She graduated in 2009, but as a single parent of an 18-month-old, education was no longer her top priority. She joined the Army to help support her young family and has since realized the benefit of furthering her education.
 
“In the military, I’m in human resources, a leadership position,” she said. Shatoya is working on completing her bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership because she believes “this course would help strengthen me on not just the civilian side, but the military portion as well.”
 
Yes, the program is designed to help her earn her bachelor’s degree, and it will pay dividends in her professional life, but what Shatoya loves most about the ADCP is the flexibility.
 
“The mission is always first when it comes to active duty. It could feel like a normal day, and then something springs up on us,” she explained.
 
She says her professors fully understand the short notice nature of her job and the long periods when Shatoya cannot communicate with them due to being “on a plane for 21 hours coming back to the mainland.” Thankfully, she says, they have all worked with her and have “all been amazing.”
 
Despite the distance, Shatoya has a little piece of home with her every time she logs in. Through the ADCP, she has earned her associate’s degree, which is framed and hanging in the living room of her parent’s home.
 
By the summer of 2024, Shatoya’s goals will be accomplished. She will receive her bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership.

“For my (graduation), I’m going to take leave,” Shatoya said with a laugh and a big smile. “I want my kids to know that in the future, if they ever have a little bump in the road, no matter how old they might feel like they’re getting, no matter how hard the world may be, education is something you can always fall back on. It’s never too late to do.”

• Tags:
• Non-traditional Students
• College of Business and Industry
• Military and Veterans
• Adult Degree Completion Program
• Army
• ADCP
• Organizational Leadership