CAREER CONNECTIONS
With its industry focus, CSU Global helps students advance at work – even while they’re still in school
By Anthony Lane | Photography by Tanya Fabian | May 22, 2025
WHEN NICK ANGIOCCHI started his first CSU Global degree in 2018, he already had an associate degree and more than five years of experience in human resources. He was working remotely as a recruiter for a company in Ohio, his home state, and was in the process of moving to Colorado.
Then things accelerated.
Or, in Angiocchi’s words, “CSU Global catapulted my career.”
Like many other CSU Global students, Angiocchi was gaining knowledge and skills through his studies and was immediately applying that learning at work. It allowed him to advance in his career while still in school. That’s exactly the scenario CSU Global leaders envision as they design fully online course work, accessible support services, and leading-edge delivery methods for a student body made up primarily of working adults who need maximum flexibility in their college studies.
From the beginning, Angiocchi’s CSU Global course work had him delving into the technical and legal sides of human resources, including conducting compliance audits and building salary schedules. He took on extra responsibilities at work, pitching ideas and strategies for recruiting and retaining employees. His studies also had him exploring the human side of human resources, thinking about how best to manage, motivate, and lead.
Then, halfway through his bachelor’s program in human resources management, Angiocchi took a new job, overseeing human resources for a Colorado Springs nonprofit. After earning his bachelor’s degree in August 2020, he went to work for a Pueblo charter school, becoming director of human resources within months.
Then, in June 2022, he became Pueblo County’s deputy director of workplace policy and compliance, overseeing a team of eight employees responsible for hiring and handling personnel matters across a county with almost 1,400 full- and part-time employees.
In the face of new complexities and new responsibilities, Angiocchi, a first-generation college graduate, decided it was the perfect time for a new challenge: He started, and recently finished, his second CSU Global degree, a Master of Business Administration.
“I guess I would say I’m a lifelong learner,” the 36-year-old said. “I’ve always wanted to go back to school, learn, and do things that are bigger and better.”
Nick Angiocchi has earned a bachelor’s degree in human resources management and a Master of Business Administration from CSU Global. He immediately put his learning into practice at work as Pueblo County’s deputy director of workplace policy and compliance.
Providing post-traditional students – or those balancing work, life, and school responsibilities – with the guidance, instruction, and inspiration to do bigger and better things is at the heart of CSU Global’s mission as the country’s first accredited, fully online public university.
This mission also helps explain why CSU Global is among the seven colleges and universities the Colorado Department of Higher Education included in its inaugural list of the state’s Career Connected Campuses.
“This designation reflects the education and training framework we build at CSU Global by making sure our courses and programs serve students while aligning with industry needs,” said Audra Spicer, CSU Global’s provost and chief academic officer.
To receive the state designation, institutions had to demonstrate their focus and provide supporting data on professional development and career preparation in classes and beyond. Schools receiving the designation documented how they emphasize student mentoring and support, make use of data, and maintain strong partnerships with industry and community.
At CSU Global, the career connection is fundamental. It starts with faculty, who have the necessary academic credentials and are also industry experts in areas including accounting, project management, information technology, and health care administration. They combine workplace insights with feedback from employer advisory councils to inform their teaching and constantly update CSU Global’s curriculum.
And to understand the needs and interests of students and alumni, the university continuously asks what works. What degree and certificate programs fit schedules and advance careers? What assignments make real-time connections between course work and work challenges? What jobs are alumni finding, and how do those jobs pay?
An annual return on investment survey provides important answers. In 2024, 1,185 alumni were surveyed; of those who had completed undergraduate programs, nearly 93 percent were employed, with 77 percent in fields related to their studies. For alumni of undergraduate degree and certificate programs, median income increased from 4 percent to 58 percent, depending on the program. For alumni of graduate degree and certificate programs, median income increased from 30 percent to 83 percent, depending on the program.
“Those are amounts of money that create generational opportunities for adults in the workforce who have families, are getting their children educated, and are advancing their careers,” Spicer said. “This is the essence of economic and social mobility, and it is so important to CSU Global’s mission.”
Yesenia Mendoza earned an undergraduate certificate in web application development from CSU Global, allowing her to change careers.
A key aspect of CSU Global’s career emphasis involves offering a range of certificate and degree options to meet the needs of different learners.
For Yesenia Mendoza, a 34-year-old Denver resident with more than a decade of experience as a pastry chef, a potential career change took shape after she started on CSU Global’s undergraduate certificate in web application development.
Now, she has an internship with an IT solutions company, a work portfolio that includes a redesigned website, and a clear sense of direction.
“One cool thing about learning is thinking that, two years ago, I didn’t even know how to build a website, and now I know exactly what to do,” Medoza said. “I can look at a code and know what it’s for.”
As part of her internship, she’s building a calculator that will allow would-be customers to estimate what it will cost to install or upgrade a wireless network or other IT infrastructure. This backend work, which involves coding and constant problem-solving, appeals to her. That’s why, with one certificate complete, she’s already started on a second, this one in Azure AI Automation.
“I want to dive further into tech,” she said. The encouragement she’s received at CSU Global contrasts with what she encountered as a student of color trying to find her place at Metro Denver high schools. “Where I came from, we were already so doubted, and we were told we weren’t going to do anything. Now I want to see how much further I can go and how much more I can challenge myself.”
Mendoza’s path to higher education started with free online classes offered through the Khan Academy. It continued when she connected with AdvanceEDU, a Colorado nonprofit that provides financial and social support for students interested in career advancement and in pursuing higher education, either at CSU Global or another partner institution.
Such partnerships are an important way students connect with CSU Global. For instance, Cristal Lara is a resident of Long Beach, California, and an Amazon employee. She has never been to Colorado, yet she learned about CSU Global through Amazon’s Career Choice program, which provides tuition support for employees pursuing college degrees, industry training, and other learning opportunities. CSU Global is a premier member of Amazon’s Career Choice Network.
Lara, 31, decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree with CSU Global because the fully online program fit her schedule, and she appreciated the flexibility of the eight-week course format. Once enrolled, she learned new skills for time management and organization. As she stepped up to train other employees and take on other new responsibilities at work, she received real-time advice, including tips on providing feedback.
“I didn’t know how to give feedback without being negative,” Lara said. Then a professor suggested she try couching feedback in positive terms. It worked. Though she sees herself as shy, Lara now feels confident seeking managerial roles with increasing responsibility: “I realized I have a knack for mentoring and communicating.”
By taking two and even three classes at a time, she completed a bachelor’s degree in business management in less than two years. With that credential, she received a promotion to become an area manager at an Amazon fulfillment center this spring. Now, she says she’s thinking about continuing her education, possibly pursuing a master’s degree in project management.
She might find that continued course work aligns with her work in surprising ways. That was Angiocchi’s experience. While starting in CSU Global’s MBA program, his focus at work involved serving on a steering committee that was leading a countywide effort to transition from a range of older software systems to a single, unified system across finance, human resources, and other units of county government.
The career connection was startling at times, Angiocchi said. He chose organizational leadership and change management as his MBA specialization, and he described a lightbulb moment when the course explored the key roles involved in bringing about organizational change. He came to a new level of understanding why he and his colleagues all had critical spots at the steering committee table.
“It’s what I was living,” Angiocchi said.
Last winter, he completed his MBA, and the new software system went live. As he anticipated the first payroll after the transition, Angiocchi set a target error rate of 10 percent, based on industry knowledge. It came in at 6 percent.
Not bad, Angiocchi said, already thinking about improvements. That approach carries into other areas of his life. Beyond work, family, and school, Angiocchi has served for the past year as CSU Global’s student representative on the CSU System’s Board of Governors. He is already looking toward the possibility of serving a second year on the board.
He’s also interested in continuing studies through CSU Global – maybe in labor relations or exploring legal aspects of human relations.
“I’m tossing around the idea of a graduate-level certificate, or even a second master’s,” he said. “We’ll see.”
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