Dawn Lamendola lives in three worlds. World number one is her family. She’s married with two children, age three and five. World number two is her work. She works three 10-hour days each week as a customer service representative for Preferred Care, a health maintenance organization located in Western New York State. World number three is her education. She recently earned a bachelor’s degree in Health Systems Administration from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and is continuing on at RIT for a master’s degree in health systems administration.

Dawn balances these three worlds by pursuing her education in cyberspace through RIT’s distance learning program. Distance learning at RIT takes advantage of the Internet and computer conferencing, along with other multimedia technologies, to deliver the classroom to the student’s computer. RIT has one of the most successful and well-established distance learning programs in the country. With more than 5,000 enrollments and 20 years experience in distance education, RIT currently offers seven master’s degrees, three undergraduate degrees, three advanced graduate certificates and thirteen undergraduate certificates all completely online.

"One can successfully continue to work and have children while furthering an education. I am living proof that it is possible," says Dawn, who contends that she would have never been able to earn a bachelor’s degree without RIT’s distance learning program. "Distance learning has allowed me to be successful in accomplishing an education, a career and, most importantly, motherhood," she adds. By eliminating the campus commute as well as mandatory class attendance in a traditional college learning environment, Dawn has been able to find the time to customize her higher education to fit within her personal schedule.

Dawn, who took nine classes at a distance over the past year, also contends that one must be disciplined and a good time manager in order to succeed. "I learn best and excel when I am given control of my learning environment," she says. "I have learned to gauge my classes and the time that needs to be allotted for each class. I work off a checklist of tasks that need to be completed, and I set up a weekly schedule where certain evenings are set aside for each particular class." Most of her class work and reading are done after she has put her children to bed, from about 9 p.m. to midnight, and sometimes as late as 2 a.m. "It has become a routine. Where else can one go to class in pajamas in the middle of the night and sip on a fresh cup of coffee?"

Dawn’s distance learning classes have utilized a combination of videotaped lectures, online discussions, teleconferences and email. She says she has learned a lot from her classmates. "The people who are in these classes range from people right out of high school to people who are presidents of companies. We had somebody in my last class who was an administrator from a hospital, and he brought so much to the table."

Dawn also has high praise for her instructors, especially Health Systems Administration Professor Larry Belle, who, she says, forced her to become Internet savvy, especially for research purposes. "He really incorporated using the Internet and these databases available through the library to do research and write papers." All RIT distance learning students have online access to a librarian, full-text on-line articles, as well as interlibrary loan and document delivery services. For example, Dawn frequently will access the Lexus-Nexus database at the RIT library via her Internet connection at home to conduct research for a class paper. "I struggled at first to find and use databases and Web sites," she says. "But with lots of practice, seeking resources became easier. I was amazed at the wealth of information available and how incredibly easy it is to access and receive this information. If Larry Belle had not shown me these databases, I would have been sitting at the library for hours on end trying to figure out how to do research for a paper. I realized I could do it all right from my home. I’ve ordered articles through the library right on-line, and they have Fed-Exed them to me within a day or two. It’s an amazing way of doing research."

Dawns’ distance learning experiences have also enhanced her job as a customer service representative for Preferred Care, where she frequently has to communicate with senior citizens who have plenty of questions and issues concerning their health care. "The Health Systems Administration Program has provided me with the foundation on health issues so that I can be confident explaining situations and issues to customers that contact me," she says. "Instead of simply having a yes or no answer, I can show them a larger perspective of health care. As I gain more knowledge, I can use it to educate them."

So, what’s in the cards for Dawn now that she has a bachelor’s degree? "My boss keeps telling me about full-time job openings where they need good people," she says. "I’ve kind of restricted myself. A lot of opportunities come up and they look like things I’d like to get involved in, but I try to keep my priorities in mind and make sure that my kids come first, then school and then work. When my children are in school full-time, then I’ll work full-time. By that point I should have my masters, and I will expect a position that is of higher status than what I’m working now." And at that point in Dawn’s life, her three worlds will most likely converge into one.

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