Learner Stories: Carol Young

Neonatal Nurse, Memorial Herman Healthcare System

Going the distance — running a marathon and pursuing an online degree

When Carol Young, a neonatal nurse from Houston, made up her mind to "get off the couch" and revitalize her life, she wasn't thinking about spending more time in the garden. She set her sights high and decided to run a marathon. Though she was 54 years old at the time and had never been an athlete per se, Young responded to an ad promoting a marathon in Dublin, Ireland, in October 2001. Six months after she started training, she joined 3,000 Americans and 2,700 Irish citizens in her first marathon.

Read Carol Young's journal of training for the marathon and finishing her PhD

Since then, she has run 11 more marathons and finished every one.

"I have to set big goals to carry them through. If I set little goals, I'll just put them off until tomorrow," she says. "If it had been just a 5K, I think I would have put off training and never gotten around to it."

At the same time she began distance running, Young set her sights on a second goal and began an online doctoral degree program in organization and management at Capella University.

"I believe there is a huge correlation between deciding to start running marathons and pursuing a PhD at Capella," she says. "You might say that first marathon helped 'kick start' the process. I had more confidence in myself that I could accomplish big goals that required commitment and endurance. And at age 55, I needed to get started if I intended to finish in a reasonable time and reap the benefits."

For Young, Capella's focus on online education proved to be the perfect fit. She continued to work full time as a neonatal nurse, continued training for the next marathon, and worked her way toward her PhD.

"My first marathon, when I crossed the finish line, it was such a high. Receiving my diploma from Capella...it is the same feeling."