Orzechowski finds flexibility, calling through Lipscomb Online in Alaska
Kim Chaudoin |
Danae Orzechowski knows what it means to work hard to accomplish a goal.
After graduating from high school in her hometown of Anchorage, Alaska, Orzechowski set her sights on earning a college degree. She enrolled as a full-time student at a nearby college despite not qualifying for many grants or other aid.
“I started working three jobs Sunday through Saturday, from 7 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. to afford college,” she said. “The weight of funding school made the start of my college education rough.”
Juggling three jobs with the demands of being a full-time student proved difficult, and Orzechowski took a break from her studies for a season. But she never let go of her dream of finishing her degree.
Orzechowski discovered Lipscomb Online’s Flex Program, which offered a pathway that would help her accomplish her educational goals and prepare her for a career serving others while providing the flexibility she needed. She also found a community that welcomed her and provided support. Today, she is about halfway through her studies in Lipscomb Online’s Bachelor of Science in psychology program with a focus on crisis counseling.
“I am taking classes from my hometown of Anchorage, Alaska,” she said. “Being in Alaska with the time zone difference from Nashville and working as often as I do, the professors have been very understanding and provided the flexibility that I need.”
That kind of academic flexibility, she said, is what made continuing her education feel possible again and what has helped her keep moving forward, even through the reality of balancing school with the responsibilities of work and life. For Orzechowski, the format made it possible to keep progressing without putting work or school on hold. For students whose lives don’t pause for set class times, whether because of work schedules, family obligations or distance, that approach can make the difference between postponing a degree and persisting to completion.
For Orzechowski, the motivation to return to school is personal and deeply rooted.
“What motivated me to start pursuing my degree again was having the ability to help other people, especially those in need,” she said. “God has opened and closed many doors, but I have a job that gets my foot in the door to pursue that work.”
Her interest in crisis-centered work began years earlier, she said, inspired by her aunt’s work with vulnerable populations. “My aunt worked a lot with sex trafficking victims and victims of domestic violence,” Orzechowski said. “She is my inspiration, and I’ve wanted to do the same work since I was around 11 or 12.”
Orzechowski currently serves as a case worker for low-income families, and said she is already putting her coursework to work.
“Just being able to attend affordable classes that can help me with my career field has been the biggest preparation,” she said. “Every day I am able to use something that I have learned.”
Looking ahead, Orzechowski said she hopes to focus her career more directly on crisis and recovery support. Her goals include working with domestic violence survivors, veterans or in suicide prevention.
As Orzechowski moves closer to the finish line in her pursuit of earning a college degree, she has advice for others considering completing their degree through Lipscomb Online: don’t rush and don’t go it alone.
“Pace yourself and never hesitate to reach out to someone for additional assistance,” she advised. “Whether it be for finances, classes, books or whatever else, there are many people within the program and university that are more than willing to make sure you have all the necessities you need to be successful in your current season of life.”