From Georgia to Tanzania: Meet eCore student, Haley Norman

Haley and her husband, Mason.

Haley Norman, 21

University of North Georgia

AS in General Studies

Expected Graduation: Fall 2017

Tell us about your path to college and how you ended up enrolled at the University of North Georgia.

I am a missionary in Tanzania, East Africa. Upon graduating from UNG, I will have taken all of my UNG courses online due to my location. I am thankful that UNG offers all-online degrees for people in unique situations like mine.

Why is completing your college degree important to you?

I understand that to be successful in the real world, a degree opens up great opportunities for financial success and stability.

Why did you choose to take online classes?

I chose to take online classes because I live in Tanzania, Africa and am not in the position to be a traditional, on-campus student. eCore offers great tools to learn how to navigate courses, assistance with courses (tutoring), librarians, and more. Some of these aids are offered 24 hours a day which is great for me because of the minimal 8 hour time difference.

Besides being a college student, what do you spend your time doing?

Mission work keeps me quite busy, but I love biking on the beautiful African trails with my husband and cooking/baking.

Mount Meru in Tanzania

How and when do you make time to spend on your school work?

I have found that maintaining a rigorous daily schedule helps me stay disciplined and contributes to my focus and success in my courses. I am a full-time, all-online student, so I have very little free time and cannot afford to be distracted and lose focus or motivation. I break my days down hour by hour so that I can give all of my attention to the one subject in that time frame and not worry about other due dates and assignments until their allotted time.

What would you say to someone who is considering taking their first online class?

The best advice I could give someone who is considering taking their first online class is to stay focused, motivated and disciplined. Be intentional in your planning and time management so that you stay on top of your work. Lastly, plan time for yourself and spend some time doing something you love. Even if that is taking quiet time to just breathe, do it. "You-time" is imperative to prevent burnout when the semester gets rough.

eCore (through UNG) has enabled me to obtain my degree from over 8,000 miles away!

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