Facing mandatory retirement from her job at the United States
Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, Cynthia Ashman prepared for
a second career in education. "I thought teaching college would be
awesome for me because I've got 30 years of experience that I can
share," she said.
Ashman had worked for six years as a probation officer, then took
a position at Leavenworth where she eventually became a unit
manager overseeing 446 minimum-security inmates. All federal law
enforcement officers must retire by age 57, so she began planning
for her next vocation when she turned 50.
She knew that to get a college-level teaching position, she'd need
a master's degree. She chose Capella's MS in Public Safety program
and quickly got up to speed on online learning and research. From
the beginning, she appreciated the practicality of the studies. As
an undergraduate, she had taken a number of courses she did not
think were going to be helpful to her work. So she was delighted
to realize that each Capella course could be put to direct use in her
new career.
With her Capella degree, getting a teaching position—two of them,
actually—was a snap. It took less than a day to land a teaching
position at a college; she got a substitute teaching job at a high
school 15 minutes after her interview. Her online experience at
Capella was impressive to her new employers.
Once she started teaching, she relied on the practices
demonstrated by her Capella instructors. "I've taught for a year now
and love it, and all the students love it, too," Ashman says. She says
the Capella master's program in Public Safety worked tremendously
well for her and inspired others, too. She has friends and family
members who are continuing their educations in part because
of the example she set.
Ashman says, with a touch of her criminal justice background
showing: "The world is yours. Take it. Do whatever you want—as
long as it's legal."