Hello, my name is Monica Humphrey.

I am a student at American InterContinential University. I am attending AIU for my BBA. I recently received my Associate Degree here and am a work study student.

I decided to go back to school May, 2006 when my children finished school. I registered them for school and I registered myself. I was a mail carrier for 15 years and a cosmetologist for 10. I began to have knee problems and I knew I needed to go back to school once again to enhance my opportunities of employment. I knew I needed to have a degree to make the income I needed to one day be able to retire and be able to live successfully. I have experience and training in a lot of areas but no degree. I could not make the money I felt I was putting out in work. Through the years, I learned I needed the degree to get the pay and job opportunities I wanted.

My challenges have been sacrificing working on a job during the hours of school. We live off very little funds and have to budget very tightly. We have to do without a lot of things to get this education. I have waited all my life to get this education because I had to raise six children on my own, as a single parent, before I had this opportunity. I have diabetes now, and a knee problem and so this is a challenge everyday to get going. I have made up my mind to overcome these obstacles. My car has been a problem because it is breaking down on me. I have two other children that go to college and work part time as well. Together we pay our bills and help each other get where we need to be to get, through this hard time. It has been very hard, but now with the gas prices, it is even harder. We try to encourage each other and keep going, knowing this is temporary and that we will one day reach our goals. I teach my children that no one can do this for them, but them.

I expect to get the career I have always wanted and that I need to get me into my retirement age. I refuse to give up. Everyday is a tiring hard challenge but I am taking one step at a time and now looking back, I see how far I have come already. I started off with no credits and I had to accomplish getting to qualify to be a student before taking college courses. This is called the Texas Success Initiative. I have earned 177 credits starting from 0 in 1996. I passed that and kept going. I have received an Associate's Degree and am three semesters away from my BBA. I am conquering obstacles daily that are in my way and reaching for the goal.

My experience at AIU has been a wonderful thing. I am on the Ambassadors team for the college, am a Deans list participant for the second tern here, and I am on the honors committee for business students. My GPA is 3.7. I did this by being determine and persevering every storm life has to offer. I am so glad I choose to attend here. The professors are the best. They enhance their students mind, emotionally, and educationally. If they don't know how to help you they will send you to someone who will. The staff is the same way. They both are very knowledgeable and efficient. I feel like I am getting the best education I can here and that they care about what happens to me when I leave with my education. I am looking forward to my new life with three degrees. I am also going to get my masters here. This is my last chance to do this because I need to do it now because I am 48 years old. I look forward to getting the rest of my education, showing my children I can do it (they can too!), and enhancing my life, financially, mentally, and educationally.

Thank you,
Monica Humphrey