By Rob Ebert, The Northwestern
All the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh graduates looked the same lined up in rows on the floor of the Kolf Sports Center. They wore flowing black robes and donned black square hats, in stark contrast to the multi-colored crowd surrounding them.They acted the same, straining their necks to look for mom or dad, a friend or relative, in the stands. They smiled when they received their diploma, and exchanged high fives and congratulations with those around them, before moving their tassels from right to left. But underneath the formalities and uniforms lay striking differences. Justin Heim is not your typical college student. He’s a 27-year-old fire chief in the Eagle Fire Department, but he graduated from UWO with a bachelor’s in fire response and mercy management. He was able to take all of his classes online as part of UWO’s Center for New Learning program, which helps non-traditional students. Heim said the online course helps him every day at his job. “I deal with a predominantly volunteer work force,” Heim said. “A lot of the education has been focused on organizational leadership and management.”
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