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For years, driving past the ��ɫ was a reminder for Sommer Haas of a goal she never accomplished.

The New Orleans native was a nursing student at her local community college when Hurricane Katrina ravaged the city, forcing her to relocate to Virginia and reconsider her career path. After settling there for several years and getting married, her husband suggested they move to Louisiana to be closer to her family.

“When we moved to the Lafayette area, I applied for a job with a local hospital, training employees on how to use the computer system,” Haas recalls.

She landed the job and began her career in health information management, but eventually, she hit a roadblock.

“It came to a point where I had the experience but didn’t have the education, and I was getting turned down for jobs that I was told I’d be great at,” she says. “I remember one time, I was sitting in an interview, and the interviewer asked me if I would ever consider going back and finishing my bachelor’s.”

“It was just like a punch to the gut, one of those moments in my life where all the puzzle pieces connected.”

Shortly thereafter, she got a call from ��ɫ notifying her that her acceptance to return to school — which she hadn’t yet acted on — was going to expire if she didn’t enroll.

“Right then and there on the phone, I just said, ‘Let’s do it!’”

That summer, she enrolled in her first class as an online general studies student, determined to earn her bachelor’s once and for all.

Expanding Her Horizon

As Haas began her coursework, she found joy in taking classes across a range of disciplines.

“I picked general studies because I could do it all online and because it gave me the opportunity to explore classes that I may not have been able to explore had I been in a more structured program,” she states. “I’m in my 40s, and if I had been pigeonholed to one subject area, I would have gotten bored.”

Through courses like HLTH 459: Health and the Aging Process, ORGL 300: Introduction to Organizational Leadership, and CMCN 100: Principles of Human Communication, she gained health and leadership knowledge applicable to her career.

And through courses like CJUS 340: Victimology, she could also enjoy learning for the fun of it.

“All of my classes were just really fun and interesting,” Haas says. “The program gave me that freedom to explore what I wanted to explore.”

Staying Organized

Eager to finish her degree, Haas took a full-time course load for several semesters, balancing school with her career in healthcare IT.

Doing so required her to stay disciplined and organized, a challenge she embraced.

“A lot of instructors will open their courses in Moodle before the semester begins,” she says. “I always made sure I had my textbooks before classes started, and I’d print out my syllabi and keep them on my desk as a reminder of what I need to accomplish each semester.”

Each week, Haas devoted an hour to each class per day, giving herself a 10-minute break between classes.

“I work remotely, so at the end of my workday, I’d just slide my work computer off to the side and begin my schoolwork on my personal computer,” she recalls.

But Haas was diligent about giving herself time away from her computer, too.

“I knew that if I committed to working hard during the week, I’d be able to give myself at least an entire Saturday or Sunday off where I didn’t have to look at a computer screen at all,” she says. “That was my reward.”

Support from her instructors and University staff also helped Haas stay on track. Her academic advisor, Sharon Williams Gregory, played a particularly helpful role during her time back in school.

“Every time I talked to her, she was just so encouraging. It was like I could hear her smiling through the phone,” Haas says. “There were a lot of days where I was tired and thought, ‘Man, I just can’t do it.’ But I also knew there was no way I was ever going to tell her I was quitting.”

Continuing to Advance

After earning a spot on the President’s List several times and crossing the stage to accept her bachelor’s degree in May 2025, Haas has already embarked on her next journey: earning a Master of Health Administration.

Though she’s excited about the opportunity to continue learning and growing, she misses ��ɫ.

“So far, the communication’s been the complete opposite of what I experienced at ��ɫ,” she says. “I keep joking that I need Miss Gregory to come help me register for my classes!”

As Haas transitions into the next phase of her academic career, she’s set new goals for herself.

“A big reason for me getting my master’s is taking my career to the next level and opening the door for a management role,” she explains. “I have the experience, and I want to have the education, too.”

And, one day, she hopes to return to ��ɫ — not as a student, but as faculty.

“If I could get the chance to teach after I retire, that would be my dream,” she says.

For now, she leaves students with a few words of wisdom: “Now is your time. Just jump in and start doing it, even if it’s just one class a semester. When you look back when you’re done and see your strength, endurance, and persistence, you’ll have a different outlook on yourself.”

Finish your degree and unlock the opportunities that await through the ��ɫ’s online general studies bachelor’s program.

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