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.
Carol Roman
"From my management classes, I now have a better understanding of how supply chain and inventory management actually works. That helps me apply what I've learned to find better ways of doing things."