Chania Arnold lives just a few minutes from Johnson’s Knoxville campus, but the online class options make it possible for her to earn her degree.
“I did my first semester on campus but quickly realized that wasn’t going to work for me,” she says. “I have a four-year-old daughter who’s not in school yet, so I need to work around her schedule as well as my job.”
Chania pivoted to complete much of her coursework online, including her Bible classes and arts and sciences core classes. She returns to campus for her in-person psychology classes as her schedule allows.
“I felt like I was torn between working, being a mom, and going to school,” she says. “This approach means I don’t have to choose, plus online classes are usually just seven weeks long so I can make progress more quickly.”
After she completes her bachelor’s degree in psychology, Chania hopes to earn her master’s degree and open a nonprofit organization for other students who are also parents.
“I see the needs of these students now,” she says. “I want to create a resource center where moms from different colleges and universities can build friendships and also receive help like free childcare and free tutoring. I want to provide resources for a variety of smaller problems that can become larger issues when these parents don’t have help.”