A decision to keep going has brought a 30-year journey to a bittersweet ending for Tara H.

Tara H. of Chesterton, Indiana, completed her Bachelor of Science in Communications Studies online.

Tara of Chesterton, Indiana, earned her Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies online from Indiana University East this May.

Reaching this point has taken dedication, persistence, and patience since she first began college in 1990.

“It really wasn’t possible for me to finish school until I returned to school online,” Tara said. “I had made several attempts at completing my degree prior to attending online, but it was challenging due to my hearing loss, work and family demands. It has been such a gratifying experience to finally finish what I started so long ago, but I am also unexpectedly emotional about it.”

Tara is feeling what many graduates are this spring, excitement to be done with an academic program years in the making – and disappointment that their last semester has taken an unexpected turn due to the coronavirus (COVID-19), ultimately changing the end of their academic experience and postponing the Commencement Ceremony.

Today IU East’s Class of 2020 is having a virtual Graduation Celebration while plans continue to be made for a live Commencement Ceremony.

The pandemic has changed lives in the past three months. Many families share work and educational space at home. Tara and her family are doing so as well.

“My 16-year-old daughter, Rina, and I have been homework buddies all along and even though I might have been embarrassed to walk the stage, she was really looking forward to it,” Tara said.

Online coursework is a perfect fit for Tara.

“IU East online was the first campus that was willing to work with my complicated transcript,” Tara said.

She enrolled in IU East’s online degree completion program in communication studies. The two-year program fit with Tara’s needs as a working parent and was a better fit for her academically than a traditional, in-person classroom.

“Furthermore, I have bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and have lost a great deal of hearing since I first attempted to complete college. Traditional classrooms are not the best fit for me, but online education has been a wonderful experience. I feel that it was easier to stay on top of my studies and interact with my professors and classmates while learning online, not to mention I was able to work full time throughout supporting my family.”

Before enrolling in IU East’s online program, Tara first started college as an English major at Purdue University Northwest. For the next eight years, she was a part-time student until she stopped taking classes and didn’t start again until 2000. Three years later, she welcomed her second child, a daughter, in 2003.

It would be another six years before Tara would return to college, inspired by her son, Kaven, as he started his journey in higher education. She enrolled at Ivy Tech Community College, changed her major, and completed an Associate of Applied Science in Software Development in 2017.

Then, Tara decided to keep going.

“Returning to school when I did gives me an edge over professional peers my age because I have learned updated writing conventions and have acquired more relevant communication skills for today’s workplace,” Tara said.

The online program has provided unexpected lessons. Tara says she learned resourcefulness because she has had to research a topic and learn it on her own, a skill that will aid her in her future profession. Tara aspired to be a technical writer, with an emphasis on software development life cycle documentation. Now with her communication studies degree in hand, coupled with her associate degree, she is well-qualified.

“I have had employers question my online experience, wondering if going to school online was easier than traditional classroom attendance,” Tara said. “I adamantly wholeheartedly believe that in some ways online education is more challenging, not less. Online discussion posts increase classroom engagement for someone like me who cannot hear well, plus you are more concerned with writing mechanics than you would be in a classroom which improves your writing skills.”

Last summer, Tara was a Summer Research Scholar in 2019. She chose her research project, “Successful Communication Strategies for the Hard of Hearing in the Workplace,” because of her experiences being hard of hearing in the workplace. The research focused on the advice and strategies proposed to increase workplace inclusion for the hard-of-hearing/deaf employee, and how businesses could adopt an approach to adapt to the employee’s communication needs rather than to the employers.

Tara said through the project she learned how to set up a communication research study. “It was a lot of work, but very worth it.”

She mentioned that she had a great experience with the faculty who taught her classes online, including Assistant Professors of Communication Studies Andrea Quenette and Justin Combs, and Julee Rosser, lecturer in communication studies. “They have all been very influential. All assigned difficult assignments and provided supportive feedback that helped me develop confidence in my ability to succeed academically,” Tara said.

Combs taught Tara in several of his classes. He’s admired her work ethic as she’s continued to work full time while pursuing her degree and during the pandemic.

“Students like Tara are the reason that I teach,” Combs said. “I only wish she would have gotten the opportunity to walk across stage to get her diploma and celebrate with her family—if anyone has earned that privilege, it’s Tara.”

This summer Tara is continuing to work several internships while working full time. She is a contracted environmental compliance report writer for ArcelorMittal steel mill in Burns Harbor, Indiana, located near Portage off of Lake Michigan. The mill is the company’s second largest facility and produces steel for a range of markets in automotive, construction, appliances, and more, according to its website.

Tara continues to have an interest in technical writing, and her internships bring considerations to positions as a digital copywriter and marketing content writer, in addition to continuing her interest in technical writing, she said.

“In retrospect, I think it is important to understand that you will only get out of your education what you are willing to put in,” Tara said. “Also, I had some friends and family question why I was still interested in completing my degree after so many failed attempts, and at times it was hard for them to understand why I had to go home to study. It is important to make this decision for yourself, not for anyone else, and it is never too late to accomplish your goals.”

Tara has enjoyed her time as an online student at IU East.

So much so, that she’s decided to keep going.

“There’s no better time than the present to pursue as much education as I can handle,” Tara said. She plans to continue her education especially in the user interface and user experience design field.

Tara plans to pursue her Master of Science online through Indiana University beginning fall 2020.