Despite her non-traditional degree path, Inga Van Wagoner appreciates the sense of personal accomplishment and connection she found through the NCLT program.
Inga Van Wagoner is the first to admit her path to an undergraduate degree was anything but traditional. Over 30 years passed between her initial college enrollment and her 2020 graduation from The University of Alabama, makingfor an extended path.
Completing an online degree program on top of family and career responsibilities was undoubtedly challenging. But for Inga, the path was also filled with personal gratification of seeing her hard work pay off, and a sense of appreciation for the program that helped her finish what she started all those years before.
Inga first learned about the New College LifeTrack (NCLT) program on a campus visit with her son, though she quickly realized the program was the perfect fit for her. “The more I read, the more I understood how the program worked; how it counts previous college credits as well as work experience and military service, it just seemed like someone created this program just for me,” Inga says. “To have that through a university as prestigious as Alabama, how could I not pursue it?”
The mother of five was thrilled to learn that her years serving in a combat hospital during Desert Storm, in the U.S. Army Reserves and later in office management and as an executive director of the specialty practice she helped found put her that much closer to earning her degree.
Learning she could enter UA as a second-semester junior was a pleasant surprise for Van Wagoner, who says she found motivation in knowing how close she was to her degree.
Once in the program, Van Wagoner took pride in knowing she was completing the same challenging coursework as her on-campus counterparts. The honors graduate, who received an award for program excellence before graduation, enjoyed being active in an academic environment again and having the opportunity to discover things she might not have otherwise experienced.
Despite her non-traditional degree path, Inga appreciates the sense of personal accomplishment and connection she found through the NCLT program. She says she cherishes the life-long relationships made with her instructors and classmates during coursework and the program’s unique in-person experiences. Inga says she always felt like part of the University as a NCLT program student and that feeling has only magnified for her as an alumna.
