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Ebony Reed, left, with sister
Dianna Reed poses at her 2004 graduation ceremony. Ebony
completed her master's degree through an online journalism
program while maintaining a full-time position for The
Plain Dealer newspaper in Ohio. Photo courtesy
of Ebony Reed
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Online
Degree Opens Doors
for MU Graduate
By Brandi Herrman-Rose
Ebony Reed, a graduate of the University of
Missouri-Columbia’s School
of Journalism online master’s program, is a big advocate
for Mizzou — and she has every reason to be. When she graduated
in 2000 with her bachelor’s degree in journalism, she got
a job in her field and was able to begin her professional career
at The Plain
Dealer, the largest newspaper in the state of Ohio.
Reed, interested in moving into management
in the media industry, knew that a master's degree would help,
but she didn’t want to quit her current position at the
Plain Dealer. So, after a semester of trying to attend
classes part-time while working at the newspaper, she opted to
try MU's distance education program.
“I tried taking classes at a local university,”
Reed said. “But because I was working, getting to classes
was difficult.” By attending the MU School of Journalism
online and taking master's-level courses in her free time, she
was able to balance work and school better than she thought possible.
MU is the only university in the nation to offer an online master’s
degree in media management.
Reed, the youngest student in the online journalism
program, also was the first to graduate. She completed her thesis
and graduated in 2004.
Reed is not the only MU student in her family.
Her sister also graduated from MU with a bachelor's degree and
currently is pursuing a law degree. “It's really exciting,”
Reed says. “My sister and I will both have two degrees from
MU.”
Reed said she considers earning an online
degree from the MU School of Journalism one of the greatest accomplishments
of her life. She also said the online environment wasn’t
difficult to get used to and she enjoyed the virtual camaraderie
she had with fellow students.
Reed, by earning her graduate degree without
giving up her full-time position, has been able to advance her
career. Within the next few weeks, she will begin a new position
with the Plain Dealer as the assistant metro editor.
However, she already has begun to branch out into other endeavors.
“Right now, I'm teaching part-time for
Cleveland State University
because of my new qualifications.”
Reed is just one student who has benefited
from the flexibility of online study at Mizzou. The journalism
program is one of 16 complete degree programs MU offers online.
If you are interested in learning more
about studying online at the University of Missouri, check out the
online programs available from MU
Direct.
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An equal opportunity/ADA institution.
Published by the Mizzou Alumni Association
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Last Update:
November 15, 2007
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