Owens Outstanding Business Graduate Takes Advantage of Online Courses
When Rosa Sanchez graduated from Waite High School, she came right to Owens Community College to continue her education. With no idea what she wanted from school, though, she left after a semester and went to work while getting her esthetics license.
After spending time in the workforce and finding out what direction she wanted to go, Sanchez came back to Owens with a clear and focused purpose.
Taking advantage of the online education options at Owens, she will now graduate in spring 2025 with an associate degree in Business Management and as the Department of Business Technology’s outstanding graduate.
“I’m glad I took the gap and then went to school because I knew what I wanted to do,” Sanchez said. “I have a purpose.
“I knew what I wanted. Why just wait and overthink it? Once I start something, I want to finish. I want to keep moving up in my career path. I wanted more opportunity. You can have work ethic, but the degree helps a lot, too.”
When Sanchez decided to return to school, she enrolled in online classes and jumped in with both feet. While working a full-time job, she took on a full class load, including summer courses.
She used a planner and an organizational system that helped her track her schedule. Before every semester, she would print out the syllabus and assignment schedule, then color-code by classes in her planner. She’d also give herself a deadline a few days prior to the due date, leaving herself with enough time to get assignments completed.
Still, her schedule was more than a little full. She would do homework at night during the week, giving herself the weekends to take a break from school and work.
The sacrifices have paid off. She wants to start a career in human resources and plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree from Indiana Wesleyan. All of her classes will be online.
The online schedule at Owens worked for Sanchez, giving her more freedom than an on-campus class schedule would have allowed. She advises anyone looking at online classes to utilize the various resources the school offers.
“I know online isn’t for everybody,” Sanchez said. “You need to have a lot of self-discipline because you can get behind really quick. You don’t have that in-person contact, but thankfully, all of the professors and instructors I’ve had have been great.”
Now that her time at Owens is finished and with a summer to fill before classes start at Indiana Wesleyan, Sanchez will have to find something other than homework and studying to fill her time.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do with so much time,” Sanchez said with a laugh.
Published May 2025