Veteran Takes on New Normal Veterans are used to tackling new challenges, so when James Carsner, a veteran/ Mason Engineering student, was faced with the challenge of virtual learning, he was ready to take it on using his unique experiences.
A 20-year Navy veteran and civil and infrastructure engineering major, Carsner is no stranger to online courses. He earned his MBA online through the University of Phoenix while serving in the Navy, so the change this past spring wasn’t a huge leap for him. “It was mainly a shift to balancing my time and no longer having to go onto campus. I had to figure out how to not let time slip away,” says Carsner.
Carsner says the approach faculty took online benefited him. “The professors kept the classes on the same schedule and made it live, which was great. If we didn’t still have the lectures then it would’ve been more of a struggle.” Carsner’s wife, who is still an active duty member of the Army, and their three children don’t live far from the Fairfax Campus, but the time that Carsner has gained by cutting his commute gave him more time to focus on the virtual learning. “It takes planning and maturity. You have to keep up with deadlines, double-check them, and be organized,” says Carsner. g
“
The professors
kept the classes on the same schedule and made it live, which was great. If we didn’t still have the lectures then it would’ve been more of
”
a struggle.
39
