SNU program helps adult students finish their degrees
Early innovation allows adult students at Southern Nazarene University the opportunity to experience educational success.
After four years of active duty military service Stan Chase found himself on a college campus trying to complete his undergraduate degree while taking care of his young family, working a full-time job, and serving in the National Guard.
“When I came back from the military, I was 25, 26 years old. I was married. I was taking night classes on campus while working 40-60 hours a week. “College was a different experience for me than the other kids on campus,” Chase recalled of his experience at a local, large public university.
Slowly piecing credits together, finishing his degree seemed like a never-ending chore at the institution he was attending. Chase was about 100 credit hours into his college education when a colleague at AT&T told him about an innovative degree completion program for adult students at Southern Nazarene University. Chase enrolled in the SNU program in fall of 1988.
“I graduated within 20 months,” he said.
Earning a Bachelor of Arts in Human Resources and Master of Science in Management from Southern Nazarene University helped him pave his path in the business world. Today Chase is the chief executive officer for NvYA Technology, a commercial IT service provider in Oklahoma City, and is responsible for the strategic direction of the company as well as working with customers.
Chase co-founded multiple technology start-ups including The Rock Island Group in 1995 and Perimeter Technology Center in 2002, which became Oklahoma’s premier data center provider and was sold in 2011 to Cequel 3 in St. Louis.
Besides growing his technology companies, he has been involved in local business development and with community organizations such as NewView Oklahoma. He is also a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma City and Leadership Oklahoma.
Despite his impressive resume, earning his degrees at Southern Nazarene are still one of his most cherished accomplishments.
“I was the first in my family to graduate from college. It was about achieving goals and seeing where I could go with it,” he said.
Accomplishing the task of completing a college degree (two in fact) was not an easy feat, but it was doable. Prior to going to SNU, Chase spent 10 years in college.
“It will not kill you. It took me 12 years to graduate from college. I had no direction. I had a lot going on,” he said.
“We can make all the excuses why we can’t, but you have the opportunity and you should do it,” Chase emphasized. “Completing your degree is about setting a goal and taking the first step.”
“It’s a matter of ‘want to,’” he said, and then following through on that goal completion.
“You can’t finish something, if you don’t start it,” Chase added.
Most students find that graduation is the point when they realize they have accomplished the goal. “Once you finish it, it is the most exhilarating feeling. I remember my dad was there and seeing the pride on his face, my wife and son were there. It was a moment I will never forget,” Chase said.
Southern Nazarene University is a pioneer in adult learning – and Chase was one of its early graduates. The university has been offering programs for working adults for more than 30 years.
SNU offers bachelor’s degree completion programs in Organizational Leadership, Business Administration, Family Studies and Gerontology, Network Management, and General Studies. Classes meet one night per week. Adult learners are members of a cohort group that begins the program together and who are there to support each other through every step of the program. SNU also offers several graduate programs in a similar format that is convenient for working adults.
The SNU adultfriendly format helped Chase align his family and work life with his academic goals. “It gave me the opportunity to see the end goal,” he said.
There was also great comfort in the camaraderie among the other adult students that were sharing the experience and were facing similar challenges.
“It was nice to get with a group of like people,” Chase said.
Chase’s Master’s degree in Management from SNU has certainly helped shape his career.
Even after all these years, he catches himself applying concepts that he picked up during his college classes at SNU. The university gave him the theoretical principles while showing him how to make them work in the real world.
“Having this practical application helped me a lot,” he said.
One of the things that stood out to him most, however, was the support he received from the SNU faculty and staff.
“They really cared. Don’t get me wrong. They didn’t hold your hand. But they cared and that was perfect for me,” he said.
For more information, visit snu.edu/snuforadults, or call 405-4916332 to speak to one of SNU’s enrollment specialists.