Finishing what she started - a longtime teacher’s path to a master’s degree
Finishing what she started - a longtime teacher’s path to a master’s degree
Nothing compares to the sense of accomplishment you feel after finishing a degree, especially after time away. Just ask Tonya Wilson-Story. After stepping away from graduate school for more than 20 years, she returned to finish her program and earned a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies.
“After all the years, it feels like a huge, huge weight of relief to say, ‘Yes, I've accomplished this!’” she said. “Did it take me more years than others? Yes, but I never gave up.”
Wilson-Story is an elementary school teacher in Cedar Rapids. From the moment her kindergarten teacher asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, she knew she wanted to be a teacher. She now teaches at the same school where she answered this question decades ago.
“I love working with kids,” she said. “They're full of excitement. They're full of energy, full of love, questioning everything you do, just full of wanting to learn.”
Wilson-Story earned her bachelor’s degree from UNI and promptly started working toward a graduate degree. She was one of the first people in her family to earn a degree, and getting a master’s felt like the next natural step. But in the days before online learning was an option, commuting from Cedar Rapids to Cedar Falls proved to be challenging.
Soon, she had children of her own and also coached a swim team. With limited time to devote to her studies, she paused her degree progress.
The years went by, and Tonya continued teaching. Her children grew up, freeing up some time in her schedule. Last summer, she was at home when a Facebook ad for UNI popped up on her computer. This sparked the desire to pick up where she left off with her degree.
Knowing she had nothing to lose, she clicked on the ad, and a staff member got in touch with her the next day. She realized she only had one class left to finish her master’s. Because she lives an hour away, getting the degree online was the most practical option.
“The support at UNI, the support from staff and everybody, has been tremendous,” she said. “I had a super amazing professor — I told her I'm one of the older students coming back. I'm not the best with technology. And she just walked me through everything, gave me all the resources. It seemed like anybody I emailed immediately, within a day or two, responded.”
It wasn’t just UNI faculty and staff who have been supportive. Wilson-Story says she has encountered this support at her school, from coworkers as well as her students and their parents.
The support at UNI, the support from staff and everybody, has been tremendous.
She has found the flexibility of the program to be exceptional, allowing her to continue working full-time as a teacher and leading extracurricular activities in the evenings.
Even as a veteran teacher, Wilson-Story believes she’s grown through getting her master’s degree ultimately making her a better educator. It’s also boosted her self-confidence.
“Getting my master’s has made me a better teacher because I was able to update myself on some current research, some of the studies that have been done in my field, as far as motivating students,” she said. “You can fall into those little slumps as a teacher, and it's nice to get a little new up-to-date research instead of just what you've done in the past.”
