Alumni Comments
One of the reasons I was considered for this position was that my
employer saw that I was working towards my Bachelor of Sociology
degree at FHSU and would complete this degree and would continue
on to earn a Masters in Liberal Studies from FHSU. When I joined
the FHSU Virtual College, I was scared to death. It was exactly
30 years since I had graduated from High School. If it hadn't
been for the support of Sociology Professor Rose Arnold, my
degree advisor, I don't know if I would have proceeded after
that first class. She was supportive and helped me 'plan' my
route. I must have set a new record for the number of times
a student has emailed her advisor with a question. We older
adults need assurance that we can handle the new technology
and get the support we need when pursuing a new adventure such
as this. I got that!
Jeanne Billings, B.A. in Sociology, FHSU
(FHSU Virtual College class of 2007)
Registrar, Hesston College
Hesston, Kansas
I loved each sociology class I took and knew I was getting
a valuable education from the first day of class. My experiences
since graduating from FHSU have illustrated how the sociology
degree program provided me with countless benefits that prepared
me to excel in graduate school and be a leader in the work
place. The focus on developing strong writing skills surpasses
many other undergraduate and graduate degree programs. The
incorporation of a multicultural focus is vital to graduate
education programs and the modern workplace. In addition,
the unparalleled commitment and attention provided by department
staff provides individualized guidance and direction, essential
to navigating the professional arena and world that follows
graduation. Most importantly, each of these benefits is transferable
and valuable to a wide variety of professional and personal
endeavors. I left FHSU prepared and strengthened both personally
and professionally.
Morgan Campas-O'Hara, B.A. in Sociology, FHSU
(Class of 2003)
M.S.W. University of Denver
Intake Clinician and Patient Rights Representative
Devereux Cleo Wallace
Since graduating in 2004, I have worked for both city governments
and private business as a planner and project manager. I am
currently the City Planner for the City of Thomasville, Georgia.
In this capacity I report directly to the City Manager, and
I am responsible for planning, zoning, code enforcement and
building review. Additionally, I am nearing completion (only
four courses left) of my Masters in Public Administration
from Troy University.
While the certificate in Community Development helped to
focus my attention on a career in city planning, it is the
reflective skills I gained through the B.A. in Sociology program
at FHSU that benefit me as a city planner. The sociology program
at FHSU focused on the development of my "sociological
imagination". It is this "imagination" that
I use daily in my endeavors to develop solutions to community
concerns.
Lee Chastain, B.A. in Sociology, FHSU
(FHSU Virtual College class of 2004)
City Planner
Thomasville, Georgia
The Sociology Department at FHSU prepared me to become a
productive member of the labor market. Through my educational
experience I was exposed to survey research methods and survey
design. This gave me an upper hand when entering the labor
market, compared to others in my cohort. The research methods
classes in Sociology gave me the knowledge necessary to immediately
go to work with surveying in real world applications.
Upon graduation I accepted a job at the College Of Southern
Maryland, as a Research Analyst. As a Research Analyst in
the Outcomes Assessment and Research unit I was responsible
for compiling recruitment and state board of education descriptive
statistics about the college. In 2006 I returned to the Midwest,
and took a Research Analyst position with National Research
Corporation in Lincoln, Nebraska. National Research Corporation
(NRC) is comprised of four divisions: NRC Picker, The Governance
Institute, Payer Solutions, and Healthcare Market Guide. Each
division is deeply involved in some fashion or another with
the healthcare industry. I was first hired by NRC Picker division,
which conducts patient satisfaction surveys for hospitals
throughout the United States, Canada and Australia. As an
analyst, the primary goal was to align healthcare measurement
and quality improvement with behaviors identified as improving
the patient experience.
In 2007 I accepted an advancement in the NRC's Healthcare
Market Guide division (HCMG) as the division's Survey Manager.
The HCMG study is the most comprehensive consumer reported
assessment of hospitals, health plans, and health systems
in the industry. The HCMG study collects approximately 300,000
completes throughout the year in over 300 Core Base Statistical
Areas. My primary responsibilities toward ensuring the success
of the surveying include: survey design, survey implementation,
sample management, and achieving 100% accuracy in the Internet
Reporting tool used by HCMG. During my tenure with NRC I have
been fortunate enough to continue my professional development
through graduate studies at the University of Nebraska.
Knowledge and skills learned in the FHSU's Sociology methods
classes allowed me to work in research organizations right
after graduation. I have had the privilege to work in interesting
and important research positions since graduating from Fort
Hays State University in December 2005.
Ryan Nelson, B.A. in Sociology, FHSU
(Class of 2005)
Survey Manager
National Research Corporation
Lincoln, Nebraska
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