A native to Melbourne, FL, Amanda Knittweis chose Florida Tech’s MBA in Project Management 100% online to grow her career without putting her life on hold. A single mom of two teenage daughters working full-time in the defense industry, Knittweis knows a thing or two about “strategic scheduling,” her method of success in an online learning environment.
We interviewed her at graduation, and she was very excited about her tremendous achievement.
“When I get that diploma today, I’m going to feel overwhelmed because it has been a long journey for myself. I’ve spent 14 years working on my education, and today just marks that significant milestone of never giving up and keeping the ball rolling.”
Knittweis advises that fellow online students “keep the ball rolling,” and never give up when pursuing their education. She found her academic journey very rewarding.
“I just want to say that I think FIT has a phenomenal program. The online opportunity has been great. I’ve really enjoyed the online classes, the teachers, the professors. Despite the fact it’s an online program, there is a lot of interaction between the students and the professors, and even though you’re not face-to-face with a lot of these people, you still get to know people and share mutual experiences. It’s been great.”
We asked her a few questions before her commencement ceremony about her academic journey
What made you go back to school and get this degree?
To me, continuous improvement is critical for my career growth, and also to ensure some sort of financial security for my family. I happen to work in the defense industry, so continuous improvement and learning and knowledge of anything that involves best practices in project management is essential to the success of my future.
Why did you choose the online program with Florida Tech?
Online programs are excellent for busy people, busy moms, single moms, people who have already started in the workforce. All of those three things apply to myself: single mom, full-time job, soccer coach, so not a whole lot of time to spend in the classrooms. However, the online program gave me the freedom to pick and choose my strategic scheduling, to help me learn everything that I needed to do to get to this point today.
What was the most rewarding part of your academic journey?
I think the most rewarding part of this journey is just never giving up, having that endurance and the motivation to never stop, to keep the ball rolling. And if there are obstacles in the way, you find a way to go around those obstacles, so you can continue on your career growth, and for me it was an online program.
What did you enjoy most about the online experience?
For me, the best thing to online learning is the flexible scheduling. When you’re a busy person and you have full-time jobs and kids that require your time at very critical moments, it’s hard and it’s challenging to get the schooling in, but online programs definitely gave me that flexibility.
Who supported you in this academic journey?
I am most thankful for my family. Any time you have a parent who is dedicating a portion of their time to achieve something like this, to work on their schooling, it requires just a little bit of give from everybody and some patience. And, I’d have to thank my kids for being so flexible with me, for all those times that I needed to study and I’m sitting at the table and I just needed them to quiet down. They were always so understanding for me while I’ve pursued this amazing journey.
What do you think your kids have gained seeing you go through this?
I want them to see that no matter what happens in your life, people’s plans aren’t always consistent, things always happen, you can’t always get your degree before you have kids, but the point is that you still reach for those goals and you don’t let things stand in your way. And I want them to see that no matter what, or no matter how their lives turn out, I still want them to reach for the top.
What advice would you share for online students?
I think the key to success is really strategic scheduling. Not allowing all the work that needs to be done overwhelm you, but give yourself some flexibility throughout the week, break things up into small pieces, and just work every day on achieving just a little something. But keep the ball rolling, never stop, don’t let yourself give up at all.
Are you a graduate of Florida Tech’s 100% online degree programs? We would love to share your success story in our Student Spotlight series. Contact us at studentspotlight@bisk.com for additional details.