Carol Roman's educational path started out with the best of intentions. Right out of
high school, she started attending a traditional university, taking classes in several
areas to get a feel for her academic and career interests.
But financial pressures and her own uncertainty about a major program caused
her to leave school within two years. While she fully intended to return, marriage,
children, and the daily demands of a full-time job prevented her from keeping that
promise to herself—until an opportunity with Capella University caused her to take
another look.
"One day at work I was reading our internal newsletter, and I saw that Capella was
offering a scholarship for The Home Depot employees," she said. "So I applied
and actually won, which was enough motivation to get me started."
After starting her degree program, Roman quickly found that she needed to
maximize her organizational skills in order to keep her course work on track. But
the investment of time and study quickly paid dividends. For the first time, she was
able to not only follow quarterly financial presentations by The Home Depot's chief
financial officer, but confidently interpret the balance sheet and related documents.
Her Capella course work also applied directly to Roman's job in asset protection,
since her management classes provided a detailed understanding of related
disciplines, such as supply chain and inventory management.
But the Capella education delivered more than technical understanding. It also
gave Roman the tools to research and uncover complex business problems. For
instance, while investigating whether shippers of company products could be held
accountable for safety violations, she discovered that the original master contract
had been changed to exclude that possibility.
"When I made that discovery, I followed up to find out when and where the
agreements had been changed before taking it to my director," Roman said.
"He asked me to help resolve the problem. My Capella training gave me the
confidence to take this step."
As she nears completion of the educational journey she started years ago, Roman
is confident in her future. Because she received tuition support from her current
employer, she wants to find ways to leverage her new skills within that organization.
Down the road, she believes, that may involve graduate-level education with
Capella.