Colette Samimi
Biography
Having done stints at various community colleges in the San Francisco Bay Area, Colette Samimi had fallen into the mindset that she couldn鈥檛 go back to school. The married mother of two thought she didn鈥檛 have the time or money to return to her studies.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have a lot of support from family, no one saying, 鈥榊es, you can do this,鈥欌 she says. 鈥淲ith taking care of kids and working full-time, I just thought I didn鈥檛 have the time to spend sitting in class.鈥
That all changed when she submitted an online inquiry to Ashford University* in 2010. First, she spoke to a Student Inquiry Coordinator.
鈥淗e was persistent but not a pain,鈥 she says. 鈥淚n fact, I had spoken with him and held off a little bit to think about it. It really was after having several conversations with him and asking every question I could think of that I decided to apply.鈥 Later, Colette found another champion on Ashford鈥檚 admissions team.
鈥淥ne of the admissions people was kind of the person that really pushed me over the edge of, 鈥榊ou know, I can do this,鈥欌 she says. 鈥淗e wasn鈥檛 even promoting Ashford, but he told me, 鈥榊ou can go back to school.鈥欌
Midway through her bachelor鈥檚 program in Early Childhood Education Administration, she took a hard look at the job she鈥檇 held for 12 years as an after-school program manager. She was ready to move up, but couldn鈥檛 without a degree.
She was able to increase her pay by going to work at UC Berkeley as a teacher for special programs in the university鈥檚 East Bay Collaborative for Underserved Children. But clinching her degree in 2016 was the missing piece.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the confidence, the knowledge of not only working in education, but having the degree and all the things I learned that I can now share,鈥 Colette says.
She says she was always impressed with the quality of the education at Ashford, but now that she鈥檚 enrolled in Ashford鈥檚 Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning with Technology program**, she says she鈥檚 seen a progression.
鈥淭he course content is really good, really valuable,鈥 she says. 鈥淥ver the years I鈥檝e seen the content getting even better, and the instructors better and more interactive, especially in the last two years. I鈥檝e even been able to connect with them in more ways, not just the classes. It鈥檚 definitely improved and still getting better.鈥
Not only that, but she enjoys the smaller class size and tightly focused curriculum.
鈥淓ach course has fewer people. It鈥檚 also very focused as in most people are getting one or two degrees that are all education-focused,鈥 she says. 鈥淭his is probably my best experience at Ashford so far!鈥
* Ashford University is now the University of Arizona Global Campus
**This program is no longer accepting new enrollments. For information regarding programs currently offered by the University of Arizona Global Campus, please see the current Academic Catalog.
An online degree from the University of Arizona Global Campus does not lead to immediate teacher licensure in any state. If you want to become a classroom teacher, contact your state's education authorities before enrolling at the University of Arizona Global Campus to determine what state-specific requirements you must complete before obtaining your teacher's license.