When Ryan Roberts told his family he wanted to earn his bachelor小蝌蚪APP檚 degree, there was a collective pause.
How?
How would he earn a degree when his job takes him 10,000 miles away for more than half of the year? How would he find time for coursework and the Youngsville preschool he co-owns with his wife Amy? How would homework happen for him as well as for his son Hudson?
Endurance, time management, and a lot of support.
小蝌蚪APP淪ometimes you can小蝌蚪APP檛 see the way. You have to deal with it on a daily basis,小蝌蚪APP Roberts, 45, says. 小蝌蚪APP淵ou have to wake up every morning and look at how your day is and schedule accordingly. If not, you become overwhelmed and give up from the beginning.小蝌蚪APP
Roberts didn小蝌蚪APP檛 give up. Thanks to his family's support and the flexibility of the 小蝌蚪APP's General Studies online program, he'll receive his bachelor's degree this week.
More Than a Degree
Roberts first enrolled at UL Lafayette almost 20 years ago, dividing his time among nursing clinicals during the day, working operations dispatching at nights and on weekends, and working in the oil industry during summer breaks to earn money for books and tuition. Ultimately, opportunities in the industry lured him away from his 
studies.
He progressed in his field, becoming a project operations manager. And while his position called him to Australia for much of the year, he and his wife Amy achieved their dream of operating a preschool together 小蝌蚪APP Creative Minds 小蝌蚪APP in 2004.
But Roberts says he realized he needed to get ahead of changes as both a business owner and an employee.
小蝌蚪APP淪ociety and technology changes at a rapid pace; you小蝌蚪APP檙e left behind or struggling to keep up,小蝌蚪APP Roberts says. 小蝌蚪APP淓nrolling helped me be more effective and efficient in how we were doing business.小蝌蚪APP
Roberts says he chose General Studies because he didn小蝌蚪APP檛 just want a degree, he wanted online courses that were applicable to who he was, his experience, and what he wanted to achieve.
小蝌蚪APP淭he General Studies program offered diversity, allowing me to choose those specific disciplines where I wanted to focus my attention,小蝌蚪APP he says.
小蝌蚪APP淚t allowed me to use my hard-earned credits from the nursing program while advancing my education in technical writing, computer literacy, ethics, management of behavior and organizations, industrial and organizational psychology, organizational leadership, E-business, and more.小蝌蚪APP
When he learned about UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 online degree programs, he knew it was the right path, but Roberts was intimidated by the prospect of returning to school after 20 years and embracing a completely different format.
小蝌蚪APP淭here was a fear factor involved,小蝌蚪APP he says. 小蝌蚪APP淭his is more responsibility, in my opinion. You have to manage your time and teach yourself along the way. The dynamics are completely different.小蝌蚪APP
Completing coursework in non-traditional settings came with unique challenges. Among them, Roberts found his access to UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 online library databases blocked by international internet servers.
But he found a connected and supportive environment, whether he was completing his coursework in Youngsville or across the world.
小蝌蚪APP淥ne of the instructors last semester, with the help of the IT department, helped me find a workaround to gain library access,小蝌蚪APP Roberts says. 小蝌蚪APP淚t小蝌蚪APP檚 great. Those resources are there, they小蝌蚪APP檙e abundant and they helped me to be a better student.小蝌蚪APP
Roberts says he also formed meaningful connections with his fellow students.
小蝌蚪APP淲e learned from each other by doing. We were able to share ideas and concepts through various forums and projects during the semester,小蝌蚪APP he says.
小蝌蚪APP淏eing an older student allowed me the opportunity to share my years of experience in the business world with other students during the semester. The best connections were working team projects such as the development of a business from design to delivery.小蝌蚪APP
Staying Ahead [of Central Standard Time]
Time management wasn小蝌蚪APP檛 listed on any of Roberts小蝌蚪APP syllabi, but he says he had to quickly develop that skill to accomplish his coursework, especially because most days he小蝌蚪APP檚 in another time zone, 13 hours ahead of instructors and peers.
Roberts says he printed his syllabi each semester, and he checked his courses constantly in Moodle through the UL Lafayette mobile app.
小蝌蚪APP淭here is little room for procrastination in the online program,小蝌蚪APP he says. 小蝌蚪APP淪taying ahead of technology and the coursework is a fundamental requirement.
小蝌蚪APP淸Online courses] taught me to look for opportunities when I could read that chapter, or get online, or do a bit of research. If I didn小蝌蚪APP檛 take advantage of those moments, I was falling behind.小蝌蚪APP
Team Roberts
Being able to carve out time to study at home, Roberts says, couldn小蝌蚪APP檛 have happened without his wife.
In addition to managing the day-to-day operations of Creative Minds Preschool, Amy had to manage the household and their son小蝌蚪APP檚 extracurriculars.
小蝌蚪APP淎my picked up a lot of the responsibilities at home to allow me to focus and study because she wanted this to happen for me; she knew how important this was for me,小蝌蚪APP Roberts says. 小蝌蚪APP淪he小蝌蚪APP檚 been tremendously supportive and patient. I小蝌蚪APP檓 forever grateful for that.小蝌蚪APP
The pair has experienced an unexpected benefit from their hard work. Their 10-year-old has become more proactive about his academics, says Roberts.
小蝌蚪APP淗udson has learned by example. He sees me up late at night; he sees the results of my tests. We often spend most of our time studying and learning from each other,小蝌蚪APP says Roberts. 小蝌蚪APP淗is grades are up, and we don小蝌蚪APP檛 have to stay on him about his homework.小蝌蚪APP
Ready for Tomorrow
Roberts says pursuing his degree has made him more equipped for the present as he plans for the future, serving in a more globalized role for his company.
小蝌蚪APP淪ince enrolling in the online program, I am better prepared for the future with the ability to do more,小蝌蚪APP Roberts says. 小蝌蚪APP淚小蝌蚪APP檝e gained fundamentals from diverse disciplines to effectively shape and structure business environments from a broader spectrum of sound theories.小蝌蚪APP
This bachelor小蝌蚪APP檚 degree will serve as a stepping stone for Roberts. He says he小蝌蚪APP檚 interested in pursuing a Master of Business Administration in globalization or related specialty.