I am grateful my adviser, Troy, at University of Nebraska-Lincoln funded tuition and fees for my Ph.D. It was a bit of an odd situation. I was a full-time student, but with a full-time job. Normally, full-time students for a degree like this are paid a living stipend that I did not really want. Honestly, I think it was a pretty good deal for both of us. My contribution, bringing 40 years experience to the program in terms of research and networking, were a good bit more than what a more traditional Ph.D. student coming directly from a Bachelors or Masters degree, or even a student with a few years experience. I had worked as a volunteer for 14 years before I started the program and really wanted to continue to contribute as a volunteer during the program, so I forwent the stipend. I got a chance to volunteer and a Ph.D. and Troy got a Ph.D. student for roughly half-price relative to what he normally has to pay. It would have been a lot less for him, but he had to pay out-of-state tuition because I was not accepting the stipend as a Graduate Research Assistant.

Special accommodations were required because I was a non-traditional, full-time employed student working remotely. The tuition and fees payments got fouled up virtually every semester I was in school. In fact, it is still fouled up, because every semester they charged a late fee when they fouled up the payment. That is the last $35 dollars on my account. Now Troy has to go through the hassle of getting the late fee remove–I cannot do it myself.

It is a remarkable day in this trajectory for which, as I said previously, I am very grateful.