My personal story gives me unique insight into the aspirations of students seeking a graduate degree through our Online MA in Applied Sociology program as well as the challenges they face. For almost 20 years I worked as a health care marketing and communications professional before returning to graduate school to complete my doctorate in medical sociology. It was an experience that changed my life. Now, I draw upon my research skills and my work as an applied sociologist — as well as my previous administrative experience — in my roles as a teacher in (and director of) our department’s online graduate program. It is a job I truly love and one made possible because I was able to return to graduate school as a nontraditional student. I navigated the transformation that many of our students seek whether they hope to prepare for jobs in the commercial or nonprofit sectors or seek to enhance their teaching and research skills. Every day I know I am helping other students obtain the same opportunities I had. When I am not working with our applied sociology program, I enjoy pursuing my interests in complementary and alternative medicine, writing, and traveling. I’ve been fortunate to do a lot of the latter this year since my wife, a former magazine editor, is working on a doctorate in London where we spent the recent academic year.