Business student finds his rhythm with AlamoONLINE

Jacob Meador is studying Business Administration entirely online at Palo Alto College to transfer to Penn State as an online student for his Bachelors in business. He is well on his way, thanks to his positive experience with AlamoONLINE.

There are many perks to being an online student, from flexibility to affordability. Jacob’s experience reiterates how those features transform lives and make it possible to achieve life-long dreams. Some of these benefits were expected, and others came as a pleasant surprise.

First, at how much he would enjoy the adaptability of courses, namely the set-up of Canvas. Canvas is a learning management system used by faculty teaching online courses at all Alamo Colleges.

“I really enjoy the Canvas site because I bounce between time zones for work quite a bit, whether I’m an hour ahead or two hours behind or sometimes eight hours ahead or behind. Canvas actually updates in real-time, like when assignments are due. So, say, if I’m working in California, it’ll adjust for the time.”

While completing his online degree, Jacob works as a railroad maintenance technician for La Ram, where he services different subways and transit systems across North America. He travels often and counts on the reliability of knowing when each assignment or discussion post is due. This flexibility enables him to work while completing his coursework.

Although Jacob praises the technology and associated adaptability, he equally enjoys the personalization of online learning at Palo Alto College. When he enrolled, Jacob had questions and needed individual guidance, which he found from his advisor. He shares, “My advisor is excellent and has made the experience really good for me because I’m not your typical 18-year-old out of high school doing college.” As he progressed through his online courses, Jacob found a similar level of attention and personalization from his instructors. 

“I don’t feel like a number, and that helps me go farther. That helps you do your school because there is always someone checking in on you. This helps you get in a good mindset and learn self-discipline. I need to make sure I’m on top of this, and I think that will better prepare me to go to a bigger university that might not be so personable.”

Jacob’s journey empowered him to find a “rhythm,” as he calls it, of study habits based on self-discipline and organizational skills, and he feels prepared for success at a four-year university. At Palo Alto College, he found caring advisors, reliable instructors who modeled accountability and flexibility of learning modalities. Above all, he found his rhythm, which was an unexpected gift that will help him succeed in and outside of any classroom.