SDSU Global Campus is staying connected with a group of students who started their online studies in the past two years as they navigate their academic journeys. In the wake of a new semester, we caught up with them to share their progress, challenges, and accomplishments they have encountered while pursuing their degrees.
Alejandra Quezada, a mother, working professional, and returning student, first embarked on her journey with SDSU Global Campus in the Fall of 2024 and is on track to graduate this spring. After becoming a permanent resident of the United States after 23 years of residency, she made the decision to return to school to pursue a Master’s Degree in Public Health Online, representing both a significant personal and professional milestone.
Q: What have you learned about yourself throughout this journey?
A: Throughout this journey, I’ve learned that I am capable of far more than I often give myself credit for. I’ve realized that I don’t always take the time to acknowledge my accomplishments or reflect on my fears and insecurities. This year, however, I intentionally dedicated time to myself to do that work. Through this process, I discovered that I can take on large projects and that I have the skills, resilience, and confidence to produce meaningful and significant work.
Q: What keeps you motivated when you feel stuck in your progress?
A: When I feel stuck in my progress, I stay motivated by reminding myself why I started. Earning a Master’s in Public Health has long been a personal goal of mine, and the credibility and expertise that come with it give me confidence and purpose. I also ground myself by looking at where I am in the program—my second-to-last semester in my final year—which makes the goal feel closer and more attainable than ever. Additionally, the support of my classmates plays a big role. Being part of a group chat where we share encouragement, humor, and reminders that we are not alone, helps me feel seen and reinforces the belief that we will all finish this journey together.
Q: What did you find helpful when balancing your school work with a busy schedule?
A: This semester, I found it helpful to be intentional about how I structured my time. Larger tasks felt more manageable when I broke them down and worked on them throughout the week rather than trying to complete everything over the weekend. I was also mindful about taking on fewer additional personal commitments and leaning heavily on the support of my husband, which made a significant difference. Additionally, beginning my community field practice course during the summer eased the workload in the fall and made balancing my other classes more manageable.
Q: What has been the most rewarding part of our journey thus far?
A: The most rewarding part of this journey so far has been seeing the tangible results of my work, particularly during the community field practice course. I am especially proud of the deliverables I produced, including analyzing data and writing an updated oral health needs assessment for Monterey County. Receiving generous and affirming feedback from my site supervisor reinforced the value and impact of my work. In addition, I take pride in successfully balancing all of my courses while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. This journey has not been easy, but reaching these milestones has made the effort deeply rewarding and reaffirmed my commitment to this field.
Christopher Dela Cruz began his journey with SDSU Global Campus in the fall of 2025. His strong desire for professional growth and new opportunities has drawn the motivated professional to continue his education with a Master’s in Meeting and Event Management online.
Q: What was a challenge you encountered and how did you overcome it?
A: Figuring out the new balance of work, school, and personal life. The thing I did to overcome it was organization and sacrifice.
Q: What was your favorite moment from the semester
A: My favorite moment truly is the bond I have with my cohort. Our WhatsApp group chats help us get through the day.
Q: What did you find helpful when balancing your school work with a busy schedule?
A: Cutting off distractions, it took some time figuring out what worked, but eventually I got into a rhythm that made sense and worked for me.
Q: What keeps you motivated when you feel stuck in your journey?
A: The end goal and my fellow cohort colleagues are to keep us motivated.
Kristin Rush also began her journey with SDSU Global Campus this fall. Amidst a busy schedule of working two jobs, being a mother, and serving as caretaker for her own mom, she still decided to return to school to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Child Development. Driven by the desire to be an inspiration for her son, Kristin finds motivation to continue her education to further her personal and professional development.
Q: What was a challenge you encountered and how did you overcome it?
A: The biggest challenge for me was finding additional time to concentrate on homework and assignments. I work two jobs and am a Mother as well as caretaker to my own Mother. I found myself in a 9 pm to 2 am homework routine. It was draining me, and I was exhausted and stressed all the time. How I overcame it was by having a family meeting with my husband and young son. We talked about the struggles, the stress, and discussed ways we could all support each other and find more balance. For example, my 9-year-old son wanted to take on more chore-like responsibilities, packing his own lunch box, picking out clothes, putting away dishes in the dishwasher, and helping with dinner. My Husband wanted to help take on more primary caretaker roles, so I could devote more time to study. Open communication, collaboration, and ongoing check-ins were really important.
Q: What was your favorite moment from the semester?
A: My favorite moments from the class were, honestly, taking Child Development 354 – with Dr. Alyson Shapiro and Professor Shanice Swan, and Child Development 375 with Professor Dan Bacon, where the focus was on Middle Childhood. As a Parent, these courses were teaching me in real time how to help my own son with certain discussions like (The Birds and The Bees talk ), which came about organically, and luckily I had read the text prior and done an assignment so I was prepared, and didn’t panic. Also, it helped me understand some of the new behaviors he was exhibiting. So, taking course material and applying it in real life almost in synchronicity kept me giggling, yet extremely grateful.
Q: What did you find helpful when balancing your school work with a busy schedule?
A: I’m old school because I’m a Millennial, so when I found this app called Notability, it really helped me organize and structure my day. I could create my own daily and weekly planner. Having a secondary schedule that wasn’t calendar alarms, visually made more sense for me. Creating blocks of time each day to work on homework/assignments instead of waiting until Saturday and Sunday. This helped me to not create stress of only having two days, taking up the two full days, and then feeling guilty that I wasn’t spending time with my family. Doing a little each day created much more synergy than trying to do a two-day catch-up.
Q: What keeps you motivated when you feel stuck in your journey?
A: Remembering that I am the first in my family to go to college and that my son is watching me. I want to provide him with a better quality of life that he so deserves. I want him to understand and have a front row seat to observe that yes, things can get hard, it’s how we choose to respond to them that makes the difference, and that when you are chasing your passion, you have to find a way to push through instead of giving up.
As these students continue to make strides toward completing their programs, their stories highlight the resilience, determination, and community that define the SDSU Global Campus experience. Stay tuned as we continue to follow them through their next chapter in their academic and professional journeys.
