Stay connected with WGU Alumni and your fellow Night Owls. WGU Alumni Podcast.

After a decade of hitting walls in his career with just an associate’s degree, Matt West found WGU and earned not one degree, but two. First, in 2018, he earned his bachelor’s in marketing management, and a short time later he earned his master’s in management and leadership. 

West hails from Fredericktown, Missouri, a midwestern town with a population of 4,000 residents. In 2016, West moved to the "Gateway to the West"—St. Louis. There, he’s flexed his creative muscles advancing in his career. Currently, he serves as a creative specialist at Neighbors Credit Union. 

West was recently appointed to the Nonprofit Marketers Network - STL and is instrumental in helping support nonprofits as they reach for their goals. 

A short time after earning his MBA from WGU, Doug Vigliano was promoted to director of marketing at his employer, Construction Journal. He’s now taken the leap from individual contributor to leading and managing an entire marketing team where he helps forecast, analyze, and identify relevant construction opportunities. Additionally, Doug is a co-founder and COO of his wife’s nutrition business, Thrival Nutrition, based in Austin, Texas.  

Jason Thompson is WGU's Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Jason has more than 20 years of experience specializing in diversity, equity and inclusion, community outreach, strategic planning, and more. Jason earned his bachelor's and master's degree in sociology from the University of Wyoming, and has worked at large global organizations leading diversity and equity, including Techstars, INTERGIS, and the United States Olympic Committee. Jason brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to WGU and is focused on helping the university in develop and accomplish diversity and equity intiatives and goals.

After David Rettig earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Franklin University, he enrolled at WGU seeking a master’s in management and leadership. This degree from WGU further strengthened his position as a leader in the IT Industry. David provides an edgy voice in today’s landscape. He’s authored four books and founded two companies providing CIO advisory services.  

He is currently researching effective practices in leadership development as part of a doctorate in business administration at Wilmington University. He’s been married for 28 years to the only woman in the entire world with the patience to put up with him. He has three kids that think he's a great dad because they really don't know any better.

Two years into her first attempt at a college degree, Angie Keilhauer gave up her scholarship to become a full-time singer-songwriter. Her parents, sacrificing immigrants from El Salvador, felt far from ecstatic after hearing that Angie was dropping out. But college simply just didn’t make sense to her—she wanted to go on tour, not attend Monday morning lectures. 

During her first tour, Angie realized she needed to learn the tools necessary to run a successful business in music. This is when she learned of WGU from her mom, who graduated from WGU at the age of 60. Though memorizing legal jargon felt incredibly out of place as she simultaneously prepared for NBC’s The Voice, it was her courses at WGU that gave her the confidence to read through her entire show contract and later create a budget to record an album and marketing plan. Angie earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing management from WGU in 2019 and recently released her latest single, Real Talk.

Gina Abbey earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing in 2014 . She has a background in sales and development and most recently joined the Bridge of Hope Greater Denver, which helps single moms and their kids who are facing homelessness in the Denver, Colorado, area. She has been instrumental in raising funds and working with donors and sponsors.  

Chris Abbey is a two-time WGU graduate, first earning a bachelor’s degree in IT Network Design and Management back in 2013, and then later a master’s degree in Information Security and Assurance. He’s held various leadership positions in cybersecurity and currently is the senior customer service success manager at Red Canary, which is an ally security in detection and response for customers. 

Most importantly, they are the parents of two little girls and have been married for 15 years. 

Gina’s organization is doing a virtual fundraiser “run” for Mother’s Day through May 31. Learn more or donate here. 

Jacqueline Becerra from San Antonio, Texas, is a wife, mother, nurse, pastor, philanthropist, nonprofit champion, and proud WGU graduate. Throughout her years, Jacqueline has never let her life circumstances limit her. Instead, she used them as a driving force to help people facing the same hopelessness she did at one point in time. Jacqueline projects that drive into her work with her nonprofit organization, Hope and Life Centers, as well as her job as a Nursing Director at Tenet Healthcare in San Antonio. 

She earned her master of science in nursing from WGU in 2018, and earlier this year, WGU unveiled a 45-foot mural in her hometown to honor her as part of its "Ambition Never Rests" campaign for her overcoming numerous hardships and going on to accomplish her goals. Becerra is a shining example to all and we are proud to have her representing WGU as an alumna.

Jacqueline Becerra, 2018 WGU Commencement Speech 
WGU Role Model Murals 
San Antonio newspaper coverage of Jacqueline’s story 
WGU's Ambition Never Rests
The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team: Team Assessment: 2nd Edition – Quote used with permission.

Gussie Hopkins’ journey in higher education began 16 years ago after getting pregnant with her son, Chris, during her first semester in community college. Though she was having a baby, she knew that she didn’t want to become another statistic and would graduate no matter how long it took. She chose to attend community college and continue making the 90-minute commute to school with her newborn strapped to her chest.

Throughout her journey, she faced many challenges that stood between her and her degree. But Gussie perserved, knowing that education had the power to change the course of her life. At the age of 30 and as a mother of two, she found WGU. During her time at WGU, she was able to lean on her Program Mentor and others throughout all the ups and downs. In 2019, she earned her bachelor’s in IT Management and today serves as a project manager at Stratix, a large mobility solutions provider company headquartered Norcross, Georgia. 

Gussie Hopkins, WGU Commencement Speech, 2019
WGU Advancement

Oregon native Jordan Barta earned a bachelor’s degree in 2011 while playing football for California Lutheran University as a defensive end. After college, Jordan spent five months in Finland playing outside of Helsinki and seven months in Ingolstadt, Germany. Following this time, he returned to the United States and began working as an account manager at an online affiliate marketing company.

He knew that to advance his career, a master’s degree would be key. In 2016, while working for the company Paychex, he found WGU, which had a partnership with the payroll company. He loved WGU’s program and found it extremely relevant to the demands of his full-time employment, and he started to get attention from his company’s leadership. Since earning his degree, he has advanced his career by leveraging his experience and education to better roles, which has helped him double his salary.

Jordan is currently a customer sales director at SumTotal Systems, an East Coast-based company specializing in helping organizations with their human capital management strategies. He is a huge advocate of WGU—he’s referred more than 20 individuals to the online, nonprofit university, one of which is his wife, Michelle, who earned her MBA in Healthcare Management.  

When Jordan is not working, or referring family and colleagues to WGU, he’s often traveling with his wife, exercising, or finding any reason to be outside. 

WGU Refer-a-Friend
Jordan recounts his WGU experience

WGU alum and Boise, Idaho, native Sean Boston was recently recognized in Washington, D.C., as one of the top science teachers of the year. Boston was one of only 100 science, math, and technology teachers recognized by the White House for teaching excellence for the 2017 school year. Boston, along with the others recognized, was given a sizeable financial award, the opportunity to connect with fellow award-winning teachers, and the chance to visit and tour the museums and monuments in the nation’s capital.

Sean is a first-generation college student. He earned his bachelor’s in engineering from the University of Idaho. As an undergraduate student, he wasn’t sure what career path to head down, but he knew engineers were paid very well, so he pursued that route. After working as a mechanical engineer for four years, Sean desired a greater connection to his community—and he felt that his calling was to be a teacher. He found WGU online and, like many WGU students, was able to make a career change, graduating from WGU in 2016 with a master’s in science education. Although he took a sizeable pay cut, he finds great fulfillment as a teacher and has never looked back. The award and recognition help Sean know he made the right decision.

Sean Boston, President Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching
WGU Scholarships 

Weatherford, Texas, native Rachael Black is the oldest of six kids and the first in her family to graduate from college. A successful mother of two young boys, Rachael entered her first year of teaching in 2016 after graduating from WGU, but her early life was full of challenges.

Rachael recounted some of those challenges when she shared her story at WGU’s commencement in Houston in 2016. She said: “I grew up impoverished, a prison inmate’s daughter, neglected and abused, hungry, uneducated and destined to be unsuccessful.” 

Now, as a teacher, she creates an engaging environment for her 9th-grade biology students, instilling them with wisdom from Dr. Seuss’ "The Lorax," which has become her life motto.

When she’s not teaching science or wrangling her two boys, Rachael likes to be outdoors, camping, hiking, swimming, or just enjoying nature around her. 

Rachael Black's Commencement Speech 2016
Rachael’s book Unfinished Business: Compelling Stories of Adult Student Persistence 
WGU Commencement