Transforming Lives: Learners at AU
Shiloh Fragomeni: Criminology learner applies lessons to real world as RCMP officer
It’s a space for the people who have provided support and encouragement throughout their journey. It’s also a forum for sharing how AU is helping them achieve their educational goals and realize their future potential. Their stories are worth shouting from the rooftops! Have an inspiring story of your own to share? Email us! We’d love to hear it.
As a full-time RCMP officer, wife, mother, and Athabasca University (AU) student, finding balance in my busy life is not easy.
My career with the RCMP is anything but ordinary and my work routine can be very unpredictable. I often arrive home late from a night shift, but still must ensure my daughter is safely off to school in the morning and that meals are prepared meals for my family. On top of this, I still need to complete my course work for a degree in criminology. Thankfully, AU makes balancing my life easier.
The tutors in each class get to know their students and understand if extra assistance or guidance is needed. Courses can be taken over a six-month period. Depending on my life outside of school, it may take me the full six months to complete a course or just three or four.
The wide variety of courses that AU offers keeps me engaged and wanting more. I’m often able to apply this knowledge in my work with the RCMP.
Another advantage is that I can pick the courses I want to take and in the order I want to take them. The flexibility is exactly what I need when working in remote postings. I have been posted to several places where it would be impossible to return to a larger centre to take exams. Luckily, AU has partnerships with other invigilators, and I can write exams from the comfort of my home without needing to travel.
“Time is the most valuable thing that we have. It is important to make the most of it. ”
– Shiloh Fragomeni
Time is the most valuable thing that we have. It is important to make the most of it.
At times, I feel overwhelmed with all that I have on my plate. I have chosen this life and the payoff of completing each course is nothing shy of self-gratifying. If anyone is considering becoming a student and balancing a career and family life, I warn you that the discovery of your self-motivation can be very addicting once you start.
