Dear Esteemed AIU Faculty, Staff, and fellow Students,

While I am a unique individual with my own academic story, I imagine my AIU journey is one that is shared among many other AIU graduates. Simply put – I chose AIU for several reasons, and it is unlikely that those circumstances are unique to only me. AIU was a perfect fit for my situation and goals. Frankly, I don’t know that I could have achieved my Doctorate degree in a more advantageous way than I did with AIU. AIU’s program was key to my success in many ways. Please allow me a brief explanation through my personal story.

I didn’t start working toward a Doctorate degree until years after completing my Master’s. At that time, I wasn’t sure what, if anything, I felt enough passion for to continue my formal education. I decided not to force the issue and allow it to come to me organically in time. And if I discovered something I was passionate about, I would then decide whether or not it would be worth pursuing through continued education. As such, I continued working without giving another degree much additional thought. Then after five years of teaching, I did in fact find that I have a passion for a particular subject matter.  I realized that I was always over-the-top excited and would really “geek-out” whenever I had the opportunity to integrate the benefits of exercise and nutrition into my lectures. So then the question followed, can I pursue a Doctorate degree practically and feasibly?

Once I discovered my passion, I began researching schools and programs that would allow me to continue my education in the field of exercise physiology and nutrition. As it turns out, AIU fit the bill perfectly. AIU not only allowed me to study exactly what I wanted, but it was also my best option because online, distance-learning was required given my job and geographic location. AIU offered a self-paced program, which was extremely favorable since I work full time and have a young family to care for. As if those factors couldn’t be any more ideal, AIU also had an extremely reasonable tuition plan and offered a scholarship!

Needless to say, I was extremely excited to start working toward a Doctorate degree with AIU and got off to a really good start in the fall of 2019. Then, COVID struck, and my work changed drastically as a result. I was very fortunate to keep my job, but all my teaching materials were designed for in-person instruction, so I had a lot of work to do to get nearly all my professional teaching materials into an online format and had little time to continue my studies. About a year later, significant family changes caused delays in my research as well. Fortunately, AIU’s self-paced program allowed me the flexibility to adjust to these life changes without negative educational consequences. Then in the fall of 2022, I decided to apply for sabbatical to give myself the time I needed to finish my research and program without interference. My sabbatical was approved for the following 23-24 academic year, and I was able to finish my Phase II requirements that fall and Phases III and IV halfway through the spring term. I can’t express how elated I am to have accomplished this goal, and I owe AIU and many others my gratitude for helping to make it possible.

I believe that everything has a way of working itself out if you don’t force it. I found the perfect program to suit my needs in AIU. I successfully finished my program later than originally anticipated, but again, in a way that managed to work itself out beautifully. I am very grateful to AIU. I can’t imagine I would have been able to achieve my educational goals through any other school or program. I am also grateful to my employer, friends, family, and colleagues for all the support and encouragement along the way. I consider myself very fortunate and pray I can leverage my new knowledge and skills in a meaningful way through my teaching career.

Thank you, AIU, for helping me to become another success story.

Warmest regards,

Sarah Loudy