Teacher Uses Construction Management Degree to Help Students Build Better Futures

Micah Hale, professor of civil engineering, presents Hunter Keller a framed diploma for his master’s degree in construction management. 1:58

Hunter Keller teaches drafting and architecture at Conway High School, which gives him a summer break with more time for himself. However, he also spends significant time with family activities and various projects as well as curating collections of items such as musical instruments, radios, music albums, toasters, cars, tools and more at his home in Lonoke.

Keller wanted to earn a master’s degree in construction management in a way he could fit into his busy life. He thought what he learned would benefit his students.

A degree program delivered online was the answer.

“Since I teach, I don’t work during the summer,” he said. “I treated it like my job. I got up in the morning, I went out to my office at home, and I sat there and I worked.”

The Right Program

He took three courses one summer, a heavy schedule not generally recommended, and combined with coursework in fall and spring semesters, he was able to finish in a little over one year. Now, he can share information with his drafting and architecture students to increase their knowledge before they go out into the world.

Getting this degree benefited my students because it gave me a lot more knowledge and information about the subjects I teach,” Keller said. “It gave us real-world examples of how this works outside the classroom and in the construction industry so students going into engineering, architecture and construction have better backgrounds and more information than I would have had.”

The online delivery made the program work for him, Keller said. In addition to choosing the online route, he found the construction management degree offered by the College of Engineering at the University of Arkansas most aligned with his own previous education and the classes he teaches in Conway.

Razorbug Diploma Tour

The Razorbug visited Keller and his family during the annual Razorbug Diploma Tour. Micah Hale, professor of civil engineering, presented a framed diploma on June 9 to Keller for his Online Sam and Janet Alley Master of Science in Construction Management. The degree is named for U of A benefactors who have a long history of construction leadership in Arkansas and around the world.

The Global Campus takes the Razorbug, a Volkswagen Beetle outfitted with snout, tusks, hooves, tail and razor-edged spine on the road each summer to celebrate graduates of online degree programs across Arkansas. These graduates stayed in their home communities to continue working and taking care of their families and other responsibilities as they earned degrees. This is the fifth year the Razorbug has driven hundreds of miles on the Razorbug Diploma Tour.

Challenging, Doable

Hale, who served as Keller’s adviser, joked that Keller ignored his advice not to take three courses in summer sessions.

“It was challenging but doable,” Keller said. “It was a lot to do but I made it through with the support of my wife and my family.”

The program features 10, eight-week courses so, by the time he started to feel fatigue set in and stress building, the course was over, Keller said, laughing.

Keller’s bachelor’s degree was in applied science, and he found the variety of courses offered in the construction management master’s to be a highlight of the program. Although he did not have much background in several courses, he found they contained enough of a foundation that he could get started. They were also advanced but at a difficulty level he could handle, he said.

“If somebody was interested in doing this program, they would need to go into it knowing that it was going to take some time and dedication, but it’s definitely a program you can make it through and excel and do well in,” Keller said.

He said instructors were helpful and quick to reply to emails or take phone calls.

“I feel like I learned as much or more than in some of the in-person classes I’ve taken,” Keller said. “It was a lot of information.”