Online degrees opened the right door for these three Penn State alumni

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Stacey Gustavson said she was told she couldn't even apply for the promotion. Teri Spence studied at the hospital while her husband underwent chemotherapy. Leah Carraway-Justice said she had walked away from college once before but wasn't going to do it again.

These are three stories Penn State World Campus published in April as part of its "40k alumni" series, marking the milestone of more than 40,000 Penn Staters earning their degrees online and the careers, communities, and families they've transformed along the way.

Stacey Gustavson: The door they said was closed

When a closed door pushed her toward a master's degree, Gustavson said, she turned that frustration into a career-defining move. Today she leads college access and enrollment at one of the most diverse community colleges in the country and has become a national voice for equity in higher education.

"Earning the degree opened me up to a whole new level of job opportunities,” Gustavson said. “More importantly, I think it gave me the confidence, and it gave me the skills and the knowledge to grow, to expand, and to explore new opportunities.”

Gustavson completed a master’s degree in higher education online in 2017. The online master’s degree is offered by the Penn State College of Education through World Campus.

Read more about how Gustavson used her degree as a springboard to success.

Teri Spence: Three degrees, one unstoppable learner

Growing up in extreme poverty in southwestern Missouri, Spence always wanted to go to college, she said. She just couldn't see how.

Now, she has three Penn State degrees she earned online through World Campus, and she holds a director-level position at Penn State.

The road there was anything but straightforward, Spence said.

While earning her degrees, Spence's husband battled leukemia three times and underwent two bone marrow transplants. She kept studying through all of it — managing work, caregiving, and coursework at the same time — driven by the belief, she said, that her education was one thing she could control when everything else felt uncertain.

"It was as if a door I'd been staring at my entire childhood finally cracked open," Spence said.

Read a Q&A about Spence’s journey and how her degrees have changed her family’s direction.

Leah Carraway-Justice: She came back to school and didn't stop

A family tragedy derailed her education the first time. Years later, with a career pivot on the horizon and time running out, Carraway-Justice came back — and didn't stop until she had earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree from Penn State through Penn State World Campus.

"I've learned that doing hard work, being a mother, working full-time, being a wife, and chasing my dreams are all possible with the right level of dedication and support," she said.

Read a Q&A about Carraway Justice’s path back to school and her success.

40k alumni: 40 stories celebrating 40,000 graduates

This roundup is part of "40k alumni: 40 stories celebrating 40,000 graduates," an ongoing series about Penn Staters who have graduated with their degrees online through Penn State. Read all the profiles on the Penn State World Campus Alumni and Friends website.