Often times, a flexible college degree program is the best option for busy professionals because they have many fires to put out; in some cases, that’s not just referring to figurative fires.
In honor of National Fire Prevention Week, our Knight spotlight this October is Mark Gregory, a captain at the New York City Fire Department. Mark received his bachelor’s degree from CSU in 2014 and says his interest in fire service and his pursuit of rising through the ranks at the fire department were ultimately what led him to CSU.
“My degree program helped me to prepare for my role as a company commander by providing me with the necessary educational requirements [to go with the] experience that I had. I did not want a degree program that would limit my ability to be a well-rounded officer.”
Mark says the flexibility of the CSU courses and the helpfulness of faculty and staff made his time at CSU positive.
“The faculty is second to none. The coursework is fair and the professors and staff are always willing to provide any assistance that is needed to steer you in the right direction. Their extra effort makes the CSU program a personable one.”
Mark has worked for FDNY since 1991 and has worked hard in his community, climbing the ladder within the department and polishing his leadership skills, while also being a family man.
“I tried programs [at other universities] but found that in-person sessions had to be maintained through visits to regional centers that were far from my home and added an additional burden to my life. The CSU program allowed me to attain a degree in the field that appealed to me while doing my coursework around the daily responsibilities of life as a fire officer and a family man.”
“CSU gave me the ability to gain a degree without a great amount of personal sacrifice. It allowed me to work on my degree in a timeframe that did not over-burden me and I was able to gain the educational requirements that I needed while living a productive life.”
CSU is proud of Knights like Mark Gregory who work hard in their careers to protect their communities, work hard in their homes to give their families a good life and work hard in their classroom, wherever that may be, to ensure the spark of their future is ignited.
