Mikki Butcher

Mikki Butcher’s family bleeds purple. Her mother and grandmother enjoyed long careers in the university President’s office; her daughter graduated from JMU; and Mikki herself is the Director of Interlibrary Loans & Course Reserves at JMU Library. So when Mikki decided it was time to finish her bachelor’s, JMU’s Adult Degree Program was a natural choice.  

Mikki attended JMU as a traditional campus student in the early 90s, but she had to withdraw when she was sidelined by medical issues. She recovered and went on to raise a family, but she never forgot her dream of earning her bachelor’s. 

In 2016, she took steps toward realizing that dream and enrolled in the ADP program through the Return to Madison program. Returning to school did more than put her on the path to her goal; it also gave her an opportunity to teach her children an important lesson. “I wanted to show my kids that you don’t give up. You always finish what you’ve started.” 

Mikki had another reason to finish her bachelor’s. “I was a supervisor, and I was supervising people who had master’s degrees while I hadn’t even finished my undergrad. Organizationally, that didn’t make a lot of sense.”  

Making the decision to go back to school may have been easy, but Mikki was nervous about the differences between online and traditional study. “Everything is online, and I wasn’t sure how that was going to work for me. I’m a very social person,” she said. Mikki also worried about engaging and collaborating with younger traditional students.  

Mikki’s concerns were unfounded, largely due to the support the ADP staff provides its students. “It’s like having your own personal cheerleader in that office,” she enthused. She also credits her success to the ADP faculty. Her instructors were flexible, always easy to reach, and willing to answer questions about anything. “I never had a single bad experience with any ADP faculty member,” she said. “Because they understand the obligations an adult student can have, they’re more accommodating. They really are invested in your success.” 

As it turned out, returning to school after such a long absence had surprising benefits. Mikki found that the self-discipline that she’d developed in the working world lent itself well to online study. “I was a much more organized and engaged student as an adult.”  She also appreciated the ability to review classroom lectures as often as she needed to, which isn’t possible in a campus-based class. The geographic diversity among online ADP students was a pleasant surprise to Mikki.  “It blew me away – I was in class with so many people, and lots of times I was the only Harrisonburg resident in the class.” 

Is it time to realize your dream? Check out JMU’s Adult Degree Program today!