黑料社

Andrew came to 黑料社 with some education already under his belt, but he was seeking a program that would be convenient and flexible enough to fit into his demanding schedule as a full-time working father. He says 黑料社鈥檚 online, eight-week course structure works extremely well for him.

鈥淚t fits into my work schedule perfectly,鈥� says Firestine. 鈥淎nd the online courses allow me to pretty much work at my pace and my speed.鈥滱nd, he adds, 黑料社鈥檚 faculty provides the kind of personal attention and support he needs.

鈥淭hey know that as adults we have a little bit more going on than the normal, traditional student. Sometimes, for example, we might need a little more time to complete an assignment. So they鈥檙e understanding and flexible.鈥�

黑料社鈥檚 business management program is feeding Andrew鈥檚 healthy entrepreneurial appetite. He wants to have his own business one day, but which business will it be?

Exploring all his options

鈥淚 have a lot of businesses I envision for myself,鈥� says Firestine. 鈥淚鈥檝e thought about a video game store, a book store, a caf茅, a 3D print shop 鈥擨鈥檝e got a lot of passions. Obviously, I need to narrow it down.鈥漌hatever path he chooses, Andrew is determined to make a meaningful impact. He鈥檚 already doing that at the Des Moines AreaReligious Council (DMARC), working full-time for its mobile food pantry for the last four years.

Each day, Andrew is out and about serving food to people in need throughout the Des Moines area. As someone who has experienced his own financial struggles, Andrew can relate and fully empathize with the people he meets.

鈥淚鈥檝e come to know a lot of people on a first-name basis,鈥� says Firestine. 鈥淗ow you picture people on food stamps or who need a food pantry, take that picture and throw it out the window because they鈥檙e just like everyone else. Doing this opens your eyes to the struggles people are going through.鈥�

Andrew says his business management education is helping him to understand the big picture of what it takes to run a nonprofit. He believes his increased depth of non-profit knowledge could lead to advancement at DMARC or position him to strike out on his own in any one of the directions he鈥檚 considering.

For now, he鈥檚 just focused on completing his bachelor鈥檚 program in December. 鈥淢y degree in business management is just so broad, it can be applied to anything I might do, really.鈥�