Learners Like No Other is a series where real students and alumni share how online learning at AU is like no other university experience. Submit your story.
Brittany Arora
Master of Nursing – Nurse Practitioner student
📍Calgary, Alta.
Why was online learning at Athabasca University the right fit for you?
Athabasca University was the only graduate school I wanted to apply to because it was the only option that feasibly worked with my life. I applied when I was nine weeks pregnant with my third baby.
Commuting to campus for in-person classes would not have been ideal while raising my three young children. I wanted the flexibility to study on my terms while continuing to be a stay-at-home mother and balancing my own well-being.
I also learn best independently. While I feel very supported by my instructors at AU, I wanted the freedom to move at my own pace and figure things out in ways that made sense to me and would help me retain what I was learning. I comprehend and retain knowledge best by teaching myself, so I knew online learning with AU would be the most practical fit for me.
How has studying at AU helped you achieve your goals?
I am pleasantly surprised at how involved I have been as an AU student. There are ample community aspects of AU that I did not expect to find at an online university.
I feel so connected with my classmates, even if our relationships are solely built through MS Teams and text. I am looking forward to convocation to finally meet these amazing humans in person and give them the biggest hugs!
In terms of my professional and academic goals, I have been successful at AU because of the online format. It is a lot less intimidating for me to post in a class forum than it was to raise my hand to contribute in a packed lecture hall.
I have been lucky enough to become involved with AU as the MN-NP [Master of Nursing – Nurse Practitioner] Student Liaison, I co-founded the MN-NP Mentorship Program, I am competing in the graduate 3MT Competition and am taking my course-based research to conferences to share.
What obstacles have you had to overcome to pursue your education? How did you overcome them?
I applied to the AU MN-NP program when I was nine weeks pregnant with my third baby. Little did I know at the time, but he would go on to be born with severe medical complexities and lifelong disabilities.
He spent the first five weeks fighting for his life in the NICU [neonatal intensive care unit], then came home on oxygen and tube feeds just two weeks before I began the MN-NP program full time. He had more than 100 hospital appointments in his first year of life, plus immense medical care needs that I solely provided at home.
If I had been in a traditional, in-person degree program, I would have had to drop out. I cannot foresee there having been a way I could have juggled his medical care while completing school. He attended every MS Teams class with me and every virtual office hour. He was also snuggled to my chest in his baby carrier as I did countless hours of paper-writing and studying.
Maybe everything does happen for a reason. His medical complexities motivate me more than imaginable to learn, research, relate to patients and their families, and be the best future NP possible, building from my own lived experiences.
How do you balance your studies with other responsibilities like work or family?
My demanding personal life does not always allow me to have marathon study sessions. I need to work around my kids and providing care to my medically complex baby. Every minute of my day counts.
Even if it is two minutes of flash cards while waiting on hold to call my son’s doctors, listening to a lecture at 2x speed while driving to appointments, or using sleepless nights in the hospital beside my son to finish more assigned readings, I find ways to make the time work.
I love what I am studying. I am so fulfilled by learning and achieving that this degree almost feels like a hobby for me.
To relax when things get tense, I love to run and sometimes will also listen to lectures during my workouts.
Who is your biggest cheerleader?
My medically fragile son is my biggest cheerleader—my why, my purpose, my love, and my inspiration.
It took countless health-care providers assessing him in the NICU before one doctor happened to recognize his rare disease. Of course, the medical saying about “if you hear hoofbeats, think horses not zebras” is usually true, but in his case it was not. I am eager and excited to learn about all the “zebra”—rare, unexpected, non-typical—medical conditions I can.
And when the light at the end of this degree tunnel seems far away, I watch the AU convocation highlight videos on AU’s social media channels and YouTube. I get misty-eyed every time, and it helps me get my head back in the game.
So, thank you, President Clark, for being the motivational soundtrack from afar throughout my master’s!
What is your favourite course?
NURS 516 (Pharmacotherapeutics and Pathophysiology for Nurse Practitioners I)
What are your plans for the future after completing your AU program?
Open an NP-led clinic!
How is your AU education different from what you have experienced previously?
Way less wasted time! I get to work around my schedule and on my terms. And from the comfort of my own pyjamas most of the time too!
Share your story to win!
Click on our entry form to answer questions about your education journey and to share photos to accompany your submission. Published writers win an AU swag pack!