Tiffany Sakahar-Peterson

Q: “Tell us about yourself, Tiffany.”
A: " I have a 3-year old daughter, and my husband is an officer in the Air Force. I love to travel, and take walks and hikes with my family. I love to read, cook, and drink wine, but I'm also a little obsessive, so I like to organize, plan, and execute various projects - whether academic or personal. I've worked as a technical editor and writer."

Q: “What was your motivation for pursuing your degree?”
A: "I love history and want to work within history or a humanities area. Also, the more nomadic nature of the military encouraged me to find something stimulating but also my make my resume more competitive. I found Norwich through a Google search for online Master's programs, and I just really liked the program. I liked that each class built on the others and that I didn't have to worry about a delay in graduation because Norwich cancelled a class."

Q: “What was the deciding factor in pursuing an online degree versus a traditional on-campus degree?”
A: "Because I'm a military spouse, and we are on the move often, it was almost a necessity to go through an online program. I had begun an online Master's program before Norwich and it was awful, so my only reservation was that the Norwich program would be as unsupportive and monotonous. However, the overall involvement of the professors and students, as well as the readings and assignments, were stimulating and challenging, and I felt like I learned more than I expected I would.

Q: "Please describe any memorable experiences you shared with faculty or staff."
A: "The professor I was closest to was my capstone adviser. He was incredibly helpful in pushing me to think more critically about my thesis, sources, and overall topic. He was also understanding in providing multiple types of explanations for what was expected of me (which is to say that if a written explanation didn't quite do it, a visual example would) and it felt like he truly wanted me to succeed."

Q: "How have you grown personally or professionally since completing your coursework and degree?"
A: "Professionally, I feel more confident that I can pursue a path within a more humanities leaning field(s), which is incredibly exciting. Personally, the program renewed my interest in research, critical thinking, and writing, which had turned into vague interests during the intervening years of my undergrad and graduate degrees."

Q: “What aspects of your Norwich experience will you carry most strongly with you?”
A: "I definitely enjoyed most of the discussions; it would be impossible not to carry and apply the lessons I've learned from them."