A Conversation with Benita Stiver

What is your degree program, and what do you plan to do with it?

Web-Design Bachelor Degree program. I am starting my own web design business out of my home.

Tell us what has made your Westwood Online College experience positive for you?

R-e-s-p-e-c-t. The instructors, WOL staff, Student Advisors and all of my classmates show each other an awesome amount of respect and courtesy. Everyone learns in an environment that is truly, equal. Learning from the instructors is cool and learning from each other is fantastic!

It can be difficult to persist in an online, accelerated program and oftentimes students find it even more challenging in the summer months. How are you able to balance school, work (if applicable) and your personal life, especially in the summer months?

Having a week in between terms is great. It gives us time to have some extra fun, do home projects that are time consuming during course weeks and just relax for a while. Land-based colleges do not give you that week. During the term, I print out all of the assignments for the week and put them in a binder. I then schedule my week according to the work needed for each class. I do most of my homework during the day and late evening. This lets me have time during the day to work undisturbed while the kids are a school. When I really want to get a project done, late evenings are also the quietest time in my house.