“It’s Not About How Smart You Are; It’s About How Disciplined You Are”: A Student Success Story
Domonique Chapman
Classes don’t start until next week at Franklin University in Ohio, but Domonique Chapman is going through her course syllabi and working on assignments already. She wants to be prepared for the first day of classes and to make sure she knows in advance what questions she may have for her professors on the first day. After hearing this, you’re probably not surprised to hear that Domonique has held a 4.0 grade point average for the last five semesters and is working her way through graduate school on her way to getting a master’s degree in healthcare management. You may be surprised to hear that Domonique wasn’t always this way. In fact, she didn’t do as well in her first college classes and switched schools. How did Domonique make such a radical change to become a successful student?
The answer is simple – by learning from her past mistakes and by being disciplined. Being prepared and disciplined “makes a huge difference,” said Domonique. “For the classes I didn’t prepare for, it was a mess.” She says that she had to learn through experience, and that made the difference.
Being prepared keeps her on top of her assignments, especially in graduate school where she has papers to write left and right. Preparation is key to how she chose what to study. Domonique started school studying to be a dental hygienist, then changed her major to become a medical assistant. After performing research on what careers were in demand, she decided to move into the healthcare management field. In addition, she researched what qualifications were needed for people working in the field with similar aspirations of going into healthcare administration and found out the a master’s degree was helpful in being successful. Without being prepared, Domonique would not have done the necessary research to put herself on the pathway to success in her post-school career.
Domonique has some valuable advice for students considering graduate school, “Try to specialize in graduate school.” And, remember, “college is not for everyone. It is very expensive. Make sure it’s a commitment you want to make. If the answer is no, then a master’s degree is not for you.”
