Journey from Nebraska’s Prairie to Arkansas’ Ozarks in an Instant

The rolling grasslands and prairies of southeast Nebraska are a long way from the Ozark Mountains that surround the University of Arkansas campus, but for Lincoln resident Taylor Morgan, it’s as close as her home computer.

Morgan, 24, is enrolled in the U of A’s Masters of Operations Management online degree program and plans to graduate in May 2025.

Making the choice to pursue graduate education wasn’t easy. Having just started a full-time job as a field construction inspector for an engineering consulting firm, Morgan had little spare time. Additionally, she could find no institutions within travel distance that offered the operations management degree.

“My greatest fear at the time was what I could be getting myself into,” said Morgan, who completed a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management with a minor in Business and International Engineering in December of 2022. “I wasn't sure what the load of assignments would be like since they are eight-week classes. I had some idea since I actually did some eight-week summer classes in my undergrad, which was at least two to three hours a day doing homework because it was a whole semester condensed into an eight-week session. But the eight-week sessions in this program are structured to where they've never overloaded me. There are a few assignments a week, and I don't have to work on a class every single day. The amount of work isn't what I expected it to be, but the value of what I'm learning is there, and the types of assignments are helpful, but it's not too much to where I can't balance it. I'm able to balance my full-time job on top of school and other commitments. I'm glad it doesn't take up too much of my time.”

Once she decided to seek a master’s degree, Morgan searched the internet and sought advice from people she trusted, all of which led her to the U of A.

“I thought this specific program sounded really interesting because they don't have that one here, and online is so much more convenient,” Morgan recalled. “I came across this program and talked with the advisor who actually was awesome. They explain everything very well. I've never had any confusion or any questions they couldn’t answer for me. They explained the whole program, and it sounded very doable and manageable. And affordable, which was a big one. So when they explained the structure of the program to me and the types of classes I would be taking, I thought it would only benefit me. A lot of people said they’re considering doing it and encouraged me to do it, too. I’m really glad that I did. It’s done nothing but benefit me, and it will only benefit me more in the future.”

The convenience and flexibility of online learning were additional enticements, since they would allow her to proceed at her own pace, working on assignments when it suited her work and family needs.

“The fact that it's at my own pace makes it much easier,” Morgan said, “and it takes that stress away from having to go to evening classes and taking up so much more of my time. There are other things I do in the evenings, like go to the gym or spend time with family. I don't have to miss out on these things because I can do school when I know it's going to be convenient for me, which is really nice.”

The class schedule format also attracted Morgan’s interest. It breaks sessions into class groupings that include several short breaks throughout the year, rather than the single long summer break between full 12-week fall and spring sessions.

“I like that the classes are in eight-week formats, and that there are breaks throughout the year around it,” she said. “I'm not constantly in school since there's a couple breaks around the summer class. It's two spring classes and about a month off, then the summer class, then about another month off, then two fall classes and then about a month off around the holidays. I can go on vacation and still be in school, but that's a lot to do. When you're on vacation, you don't want to have to be doing homework the whole time, so it's nice that I'll have breaks in there, especially around summertime when I really like to travel. Even so, online learning is flexible enough that I can do this from anywhere if I had to. If I'm not home in Lincoln, like traveling for work or for fun, I can still do school.”

The knowledge and skills she will obtain with the operations management degree could open doors that would otherwise be closed to her.

“I have a lot of different interests, but I always knew I wanted to be in engineering and that is what I currently do, but I'm not in management or anything yet,” she said. “Someday I would like to do that, so with this program, I'm taking more project management-focused classes and things that will lead me to being able to do more of that in the future because I like to mentor others. I can see myself being in management someday, so I thought that this master's program would really help me get there quicker and teach me more things that I can use in my job every day.”

In addition to working full-time and attending online classes, Morgan actively volunteers her time to numerous organizations in her community. Among those dearest to her heart is the Lincoln Library, where she has more than seven years of volunteer service, which has “made a big, big impact on me,” she said. In addition, she volunteers through her work with the Nebraska chapter of Associated General Contractors of America, a nationwide trade association in the construction industry. She assists with various events throughout the year that are designed to expose elementary children to the possibilities and joys to be found in construction clubs. These clubs are all structural-related, showing children how to employ simple and interesting engineering principles to build things such as buildings or bridges.

“There are a few different things that we do with them,” Morgan said, “but it's great to work with young kids, see their interest in engineering and expose them to different types of engineering that they could do someday through these small activities. So that's a great way to give back and be involved in the community. I really enjoy doing that.”

Morgan is one of 33 recipients of the W.E. Manning Memorial Scholarship for online U of A students for the 2024-2025 academic year. The scholarship began with small gifts from many people who passionately believe in the transformative power of education. It was created in 2018 to financially assist students who are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate online degree programs.

“I am so grateful to have received this scholarship,” Morgan said. “It helps so much financially. This program was already very affordable in my opinion to begin with, compared to other graduate programs I saw when I did my research before I applied to this one, but that scholarship helps so much, so I'm very appreciative of that.”