Teresa Maddox

I'm an older student who returned to school after almost 30 years. When I married my goal was to go back to school and get my degree. However, life changes, family obligations, and financial circumstances prevented me from returning until I finally decided there was no good or better time to go back to school. In 2007, I enrolled in the External Degree Program at the University of Alabama and started on my journey of fulfilling my goal to obtain my degree. I have been in the workforce for 37 years with approximately 27 of those years in Human Resources/Administrative. My plans when returning to school was to obtain a degree in Business Management or Administrative Management. Having been in Human Resources for approximately 27 years and specifically in benefits management for the past 20 years, obtaining my degree will open up doors of opportunity that I do not have without a degree. It will also help me to use my knowledge, skills and abilities to keep my workplace informed of new changes and upcoming changes to laws regarding Human Resource matters, organize more productive training and seminars for employees, and develop methods of communication to make sure all employees are aware and informed of their employee benefits. It is important that employees understand that the Human Resources department is there to work for them and help keep things moving in a positive and productive direction.