My name is Kristin Durance and I’m from Tampa, Florida.
I graduated with my master’s in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Colorado State University.
When I first learned about psychology, you know, you always picture the person laying on the couch,
but the more I learned about it, the more I realized that it can be applied in so many different places,
especially in organizations.
I got an entry level job at an online program management company,
and it was really interesting to see how they were so concerned about the bottom line,
about return on investment.
But they never paid a lot of attention to the employees themselves.
We had a lot of problems with turnover and the organization never wondered,
you know, what can we do to retain these employees? I started looking for a master’s degree after that.
I did a little more research on Industrial-Organizational Psychology, and I didn’t want it to be theory based.
I wanted it to be applied,
a practitioner-based program where I could apply exactly what I’m learning in school directly to my job.
And so I was really excited about all those aspects of Colorado State University.
Once I started the master’s, I was very vocal about it to my company.
I said, this is exactly what you guys need.
About halfway through the program, they opened up a position in the learning and development department, and I applied for it.
I’m currently the Senior Manager of Learning and Development at the company.
Everything I’ve learned from the program, I’m able to apply directly to my job.
Being an online student has so many advantages, especially at Colorado State University.
I had the flexibility of kind of completing the program at my own pace.
There weren’t any mandatory login times. Of course, there are due dates,
you know, like there are with any school.
But instructors really understood that most of the classmates were working professionals.
I was able to work successfully full time,
40 or 50 hours a week,
and I was still able to come home and complete the courses whenever I was able to.
You know, my family is really important to me. I’m lucky that we all live here in Tampa.
So I felt so much more secure and more confident in my ability to successfully complete these programs,
since I was able to do it from the comfort of my own home, with my family surrounding me.
