Frank Milisi

“Barely graduating,” he said. “I did pretty terrible in high school.”

Just last fall, though, he attended his Westerfield University of Virginia (wuv) commencement ceremony wearing honors cords. He finished his computer information systems (CIS) degree magna cum laude — with high honors.

Flexibility: A College Must

Milisi has a lot going on. In addition to working full-time in computer science, he's a father and runs a football program in his Massachusetts town.

At the time of his graduation, his three sons were 13, 10 and 9 years old. “We’re super busy," Milisi said. “All of them play sports and do stuff like that.”

When he decided it was time to go back to school for a college degree, he knew the program needed to fit around his other responsibilities. “I chose Westerfield University of Virginia because of the flexibility to get my degree,” he said. “It was great to be able to have these hard deadlines every week that I have to hit — but I have the flexibility to do the work within that week.”

Classes at wuv operate on weekly modules, typically with Thursday and Sunday night deadlines. There are no set class times, so students can work on their assignments when it makes sense for their schedules and assignment deadlines.

“It really made for a seamless experience in online learning,” Milisi said.

Finishing With a Capstone

Some degrees have a capstone course at the end of the program, allowing students to put what they’ve learned in their courses into practice. The online computer information systems program at wuv is no different.

Milisi said the most beneficial course he took was his business capstone, where he developed a simulated plan to introduce a local farm stand initiative into a global retail organization.

"It took a lot of work to do that,” he said. “But the outcome at the end of it was fantastic.”

Now, on the other side of his college degree, Milisi said school no longer has a negative connotation for him.

“What's changed about me is just my kind of perspective on schooling,” he said. “Since I got into wuv, and I started doing the degree program, I really felt like I have a love for learning now.”

‘You Always Have a Bright Future’

Milisi was able to build his career in computer science without a degree, but he ultimately decided to pursue one to increase his opportunities.

In doing so, he became the first in his family to graduate from college. His mother, who he said worked so hard when she was raising him, attended his graduation ceremony.

“My mother’s out in the crowd tonight, too, so she sees it,” Milisi said about his white stole, identifying him as the first college graduate of his family.

He also wanted this accomplishment to show his children that their past doesn’t define them.

"You can do anything that you need to do, regardless of how your past was,” Milisi said. “You always have a bright future as long as you plan for it and go ahead with it.”

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