BY DEGREES
Pursuing a passion for healthcare
By Coleman Cornelius | Jan. 1, 2023
SITTING BY HER MOTHER’S hospital bed, Chevette Madden finished her online course work to earn a bachelor’s degree in information technology.
Her mom was on life support after enduring a massive pulmonary embolism, and Madden had left her job in a doctor’s office to comfort her mother during an extensive hospital stay and, later, to help during a long recovery.
Yet, Madden did not lose sight of her goal of working in the health care field.
She persevered in college studies with CSU Global while parenting her daughter alone, working full time, and helping her mom through a medical crisis and rehabilitation. Her asynchronous, online classes were paramount for degree completion, Madden said.
“I would have had to withdraw from a traditional university,” she said.
HOW SHE PAID
- Full-time work
- Pell Grants
- Student loan
- Debt is manageable
Earning her bachelor’s degree from CSU Global in 2014 allowed Madden to secure an IT job with a school district in North Carolina. But she wasn’t done there. Madden’s bachelor’s degree had opened a door to greater job opportunities, so she continued at CSU Global to earn a master’s degree in health care administration in 2019.
Then, Madden was well qualified to become a teacher at a public magnet school called City of Medicine Academy in Durham. The academy’s curriculum is designed to ready high school students for work in the field of health services and medical care, a robust industry in their region. Madden teaches child development and counseling and mental health courses – finally working in the arena she finds most interesting and fulfilling.
“I tell students all the time that I know I’m serving my purpose,” Madden said. “I’ve always wanted to help students, and I’ve always wanted to be in the health care field, so I’m doing that. It’s a joy to know I’m helping students who are future health care professionals.”
Yet, Madden seeks still more education. She is starting her next round of training with the Yale School of Medicine Physician Assistant Online Program; it awards a Master of Medical Science and readies students for licensure as physician assistants. Madden wants to prepare for medical work in a clinical setting and envisions combining all her education and experience in a future role in a high-demand field.
“I’m still pursuing my dreams,” she said. “There’s more than one way to get to your goal.”
Photo at top: Chevette Madden, 46, from Durham, North Carolina, earned a bachelor’s degree in information technology from CSU Global in 2014, followed by a master’s degree in health care administration in 2019. She teaches at a health-focused magnet school and is enrolling in the Yale School of Medicine Physician Assistant Online Program.
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