UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Andre Ingram and his two sons often sat around the family’s dining room table the past year with their laptops open completing homework assignments.

“The dining room is where we usually do our schoolwork, and we’re all just banging away on our keyboards,” said Ingram, 42, who is pursuing a Penn State master’s degree. “My wife came in the room one day and joked how all her boys were doing their homework.”

A Marine Corps officer and father of three, Ingram utilized the uniqueness of his Penn State degree program to spend more time with his family. He is nearing completion of a master of professional studies in supply chain management degree through a special partnership between the Marine Corps, Penn State World Campus, and the Smeal College of Business.

Ingram and his wife, Attiyya, have two high-school-aged children, daughter Myca and son Sean, and a middle schooler, Ryan. The lieutenant colonel, who is expecting to graduate in August, said his responsibilities as a Marine Corps logistics officer have occupied most of his time and attention during his 20-year career.

But he said the Penn State program, which placed him full time in State College, gave him the chance to reconnect with his children in addition to providing him with a world-class education. He said he completed most of his schoolwork during the day so he could spend most of his nights and weekends as a full-time dad.

“I couldn’t miss this opportunity for what it offered both personally and professionally,” Ingram said. “This experience has allowed me to focus more on myself and my family. Those were my goals coming into it.”

The Marine Corps Supply Chain Fellowship at Penn State condenses the two-year supply chain program offered online through World Campus into a hybrid program that combines online courses with brick-and-mortar classes that MBA students take at the University Park campus.

Ingram, whose family moved this week to Georgia for his new assignment after his kids finished their school years, said the experience provided him the firsthand opportunity to display the importance of education to his children.

“I got a chance to show my kids that learning is a lifetime endeavor,” Ingram said. “I knew that my kids would see me in this environment, and I hope they can use me as an example as they prepare for school and life.”

Visit the Penn State World Campus website for more information.