Thomas Dippel has a passion for helping people. Prior to taking classes at CSU, his plan was to pursue a degree in physical therapy from a community college in Nebraska. With a few PT classes under his belt, he opted to take a different route: psychology.
“I genuinely enjoy helping people,” he said. “I like making people happy and I enjoy putting a smile on someone’s face.”
Being there for friends in a time of need seemed to help shape his desire to pursue psychology.
“I’ve always been really helpful with helping friends whenever they come to me and have like a problem or something or they need to talk to someone,” he said. “I’ve just naturally always been good with helping them, and it made me feel satisfied when I see someone else satisfied, seeing someone with a smile of their face.”
Taking the Next Step
Thomas fell in love with the idea of pursuing a career in psychology, and he had encouragement to enroll at CSU from someone close to him: his father.
Thomas’ father, Ronald, served 22 years in law enforcement before retiring from the field. Afterward, he changed careers and went to work with Hormel Foods. His job led the family to move to several different states, including Wisconsin, Illinois, Nebraska and Minnesota.
Ronald enrolled at CSU to work on his doctoral degree and convinced his son to enroll to earn his bachelor’s. Thomas was also able to take advantage of CSU’s Knight Discount for family members which helped him save on his tuition.
“I chose CSU over other institutions because it allowed me to continue to educate myself while going through the ups and downs of life,” Thomas said.
CSU’s online platform provided Thomas with the accessibility he needed to pursue his degree, no matter where his family was living at the time. Earning a degree online, even while his family moved from state to state, was suddenly doable.
A Family Celebration
Thomas and his father made the trip from their hometown of Austin, Minnesota, to Orange Beach, Alabama, this October to attend CSU’s 2025 Commencement Ceremony—Ronald walking for his DBA, Thomas for his bachelor’s degree.
“I’ve never been able to experience or share an achievement with my dad. I mean, we’ve always worked on projects together around the house, but something as prestigious as a bachelor’s degree and a DBA, being able to be proud of ourselves together for a moment is something I’ve never shared with my dad. It’s really exciting to me,” said Thomas.
A Well-Deserved Recognition
Thomas made the President’s List in the summer of 2024, the spring of 2025 and the summer of 2025, proving that with hard work and dedication, you can achieve something to be proud of.
“It feels good,” he said. “It feels like I’m having my hard work pay off, which is something that’s rare for me, at least academic wise because I wasn’t applying myself in high school. It feels good to definitely apply myself and work for something and have that recognized.”
Despite making the President’s List multiple times, Thomas tended to second-guess himself when turning in assignments. However, it was clear that Thomas’ efforts would pay off, often receiving praise from his professors.
“During my years in college, I had always pushed myself hard,” he said. “I constantly thought that every assignment I turned in was going to be an F, or I would constantly correct every single mistake I made right before I turned in an assignment minutes before the time it was due. I never felt satisfied with myself until my significant other pointed my habits out to me.”
“Furthermore, I learned that I was much more capable of achieving something great. I am smart, I am strong, and I am capable of achieving my goals.”
Onward and Upward
The industrial organizational psychology class offered at CSU ended up steering Thomas toward human resource management. He enjoyed learning about the inner workings of HR and how to tackle employee confrontations and complaints.
“[The class] really teaches you how to handle people within the workplace and how to organize teams,” he said. “It’s definitely a class that I would like to use for my field. I don’t know if I plan on going and getting my master’s just yet—I plan on doing that eventually, but as of right now I’d like to work in HR, and so that was a really helpful class.”
Thomas found CSU to be fulfilling, helping him feel more confident in turning in assignments.
“I am very grateful that CSU gave me this opportunity to share my story…” he said. “I am also very grateful that CSU gave me the opportunity to graduate with my bachelor’s degree. Not only that, but I’m glad I was able to prove to myself that I am smart enough to kickstart life with a huge win.”
Disclaimer: These testimonials may not reflect the experience of all CSU students.
Multiple factors, including prior experience, geography, and degree field, affect career outcomes.
CSU does not guarantee a job, promotion, salary increase, eligibility for a position, or other career growth.
