Nearly two decades after earning an undergraduate degree, Greg Sealey found himself at a crossroads. Like many mid-career professionals, he had considered the idea of graduate school, but he needed a program that went beyond the purely technical side of IT.
“I was looking for an online degree that offered a good balance of management and IT course work, and Capella had that,” Sealey says. “The program also afforded me a way to keep working as I normally would during the day, and then do my studying and course work at home.”
As an IT professional at Home Depot's corporate headquarters in Atlanta, Sealey had a strong conceptual grasp of how online education would work. But he wasn't quite prepared for the level of intellectual stimulation the Capella program would deliver—particularly the spirited online course discussions.
“I remember clearly that in one of my early classes, the instructor always brought relevant, timely topics to the discussions,” Sealey says. “That made it exciting, because we covered real-world IT topics and discussed them in the context of IT and business management.”
The Capella experience also provided a number of tangible benefits that helped enhance Sealey's knowledge base. For example, one course in his information technology program introduced Sealey to “grid computing”—or the application of several computers to a single problem at the same time. When that concept arrived at Home Depot, Sealey not only understood the new technology, but was able to help others understand it. Another course on “Leading IT Professionals” was especially valuable, since he had been promoted to his first management role just months before.
“I was able to apply a lot of the concepts I learned in that class to my team,” Sealey says. “IT people tend to be wired differently than a lot of other professionals, and the course helped me gain better ideas of things that motivate them.”
Today, Sealey leads a team of 12 IT employees and six contractors to ensure smooth, seamless computing for Home Depot's credit card operations. He doesn't rule out the possibility of a PhD in online learning or IT management, but his master's degree has already helped him move in the direction he wants to go.
“I was promoted during the time I was in my Capella degree program,” Sealey says. “Both the greater expertise I demonstrated on the job and others' recognition of my academic advancement have played a role in advancing my career.”