Wydna Lee Ortiz-Martin ‘08CPS

It's Never Too Late to Pursue Your Dream

“I needed a program that would allow me to get a degree completely online, accept my previous credits and give me the freedom to take care of my family and work full time,” says Wydna Lee Ortiz-Martin ’08C. So, she researched online degree programs and chose St. John’s Online Learning program. This past May, Wydna walked across the stage during Commencement and received her Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies degree never once stepping foot in a classroom.

As the mother of three and wife of St. John’s Mens Assistant Basketball Coach, Wydna found it difficult to make it to traditional classes and needed a flexible program that would allow her to learn and keep up with class work online, “I’m constantly on the road because I travel with the team when they have away games. The Online Learning program helped me achieve my goal because it allowed me to do the work according to my own schedule.”

Wydna’s decision to get her college degree was motivated in part by wanting to set an example for her children: “College education is extremely important for me because it is something that no one can take away from you. I wanted to set a good example for my kids. I wanted to show them that nothing is impossible to attain.” Juggling family responsibilities, a job and class work along with constant travel was not easy for Wydna and sometimes required sacrifice: “There is always a give and take in this situation. The more I spent time with my family the less time I had to get my assignments completed. When this occurred I would stay up late to finish my assignments, but the beauty in online education is that you are given a deadline and you have the liberty to choose how you are going to meet that deadline.”

Wydna says the experience taught her that it is never too late to pursue your dreams and is considering going back to school for a graduate degree, “During this experience I learned that endurance and perseverance will help you achieve anything you put your mind to. I’m now contemplating going back for my master’s degree in education or public relations.”