Alumni Testimonials

Q: “Tell us a bit about yourself, Monica.”
A: “I grew up in the pacific northwest, in a suburb of Seattle. I retired from the Navy after 20 years living in exciting places such as Sicily, the United Kingdom, Key West and Newport, Rhode Island. I was part of the integrated undersea surveillance system and I worked in communications and information technology. I currently live in Annapolis, Maryland and enjoy Scuba and sailing.”

Q: “What is your current employer?”
A: “I am an information technology and security specialist at the Social Security Administration in Baltimore. I am responsible for managing the authorization of software installed on the network at the agency.”

Q: “What was your motivation for pursuing your degree?”
A: “Although I have over 10 years of experience working in the field of information assurance, my education to that point was completely unrelated to my experience. The Norwich online master’s program in information assurance gave me the opportunity to match my education with my professional experience.”

Q: “What do you feel makes Norwich unique?”
A: “Although I spent the majority of my professional life in the military, I did not know anything about Norwich or its military traditions. The pride that the students, faculty, and staff have in their school makes me proud as well. I feel a great sense of inclusion and belonging – even as an online learner.”

Q: “How have you developed professionally as a result of your education?”
A: “Writing and conducting research were huge elements of this program. Although writing as much as we did was a little bit outside of my comfort zone, it really focused my attention on how to sell my ideas to management. The Norwich program forced me to look at problems from many different angles and not just go with my gut feelings.”

Q: “Have you been able to put your knowledge to work at your job?”
A: “I was accepted to the Norwich program the same day I started a new job. This program focused a concentration of attention on my own organization through the case study work. As a result, I learned things about my organization as a new employee that I think would have taken much longer had I not been in this program. Interviewing experts at my organization, analyzing our processes and then presenting my analysis to an expert audience without prior knowledge of the organization taught me to organize and communicate my ideas in a more effective way.”

Q: “Anything else you wish to share about your Norwich experience?”
A: “The online information assurance program had enough structure that I was not able to procrastinate myself into a hole that I couldn’t get out of, but enough flexibility so that when life got in the way of my studies, it was never insurmountable.”