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Traveling to New Hampshire from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Shiqueta Dixon '25G said attending her Commencement ceremony in person was a way to acknowledge all the work she put into getting there.

"I feel accomplished, I feel lucky, I feel blessed," she said after walking the graduation stage. "It was important for me to be here."

Dixon worked full-time while earning her master's in healthcare administration online from Õ¬ÄÐƵµÀ (SNHU) and said it was easy for people to overlook the effort she put in.

"A lot of people don't understand the pressure," she said. "You still have to maintain a full-time job, a household and then you have to do your classes."

But she was able to make it work at SNHU.

Finding Her Fit

SNHU wasn't the first school Dixon attended. "I was in a different school, and I did not like the structure of their program," she said.

When she learned more about how online courses work at SNHU, she felt it would be a better match for her life and her schedule — and she said she was right. "It was something I was able to incorporate with my daily living because I'm here now," she said. "My experience was great. The staff is wonderful."

She noted that her academic advisor, Allie Bertone, and instructors were supportive throughout her program. "I'm so grateful to them for helping me get here," she said.

Thanks to that support and SNHU's flexible, asynchronous schedule, she said was able to manage it all.

"It doesn't matter if you're working full time or if you're managing a household," she said. "The programs that they have set up here, you are able to incorporate them into your daily living."

Looking Forward in Healthcare

Dixon studied healthcare administration to make a positive difference in the field — and in people's lives.

"My goal is to help inform healthcare policy," she said. "In order for us to live a better life, healthcare is number one, and my motto is preventative screening should always be free."

Having worked in healthcare for nine years, she said her coursework was relevant and beneficial in her career right away.

"With my experience in healthcare and then doing the courses, I was able to combine my experience and learning," she said. "And then advance my knowledge to make healthcare reform better."

But, according to Dixon, the biggest change since she started at SNHU has been her confidence.

"Now that I have this knowledge, now that I've learned more than my job role daily, I'm able to help out my colleagues, the company I work for and make better changes for everyone," she said.

She encouraged anyone else who's considering getting a master's to take the leap and make a change, too.

"Without taking risks, you'll never know what you'll be," she said. "I took a risk, and today I'm grateful for taking that risk."

Mars Girolimon '21 '23G is a staff writer at Õ¬ÄÐƵµÀ where they earned their bachelor's and master's, both in English and creative writing. In addition to their work in higher education, Girolimon's short fiction is published in the North American Review, So It Goes by The Kurt Vonnegut Museum & Library, X-R-A-Y and more. Connect with them on .