Sophia helps remove hurdles for learners, whether they’re high school students getting ahead on their degree, adults returning to school or changing careers, and anything in between. But one of the biggest benefits of Sophia is the opportunity to complete gen eds quickly and fast-track their degree.
Today, we’d like to highlight a story of how one of our talented learners leveraged Sophia to expedite his undergraduate journey and get a jump on his post bachelors learning experience.
Introducing Josh Vandergriff
As an adult learner, Josh Vandergriff returned to higher education pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition in June 2020. He was able to complete his degree in just one year, graduating in June 2021, before moving on to a master’s degree in public health.
In December 2022, Josh graduated from his master’s program and took the next step – a Doctor of Health Science program. He started in June of 2023 and is on track to graduate in May of 2025.
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Josh’s Experience at Sophia
Josh started college fresh out of high school, and in his words, “unready” for higher education. Life challenges arose, and he had to put his higher education on pause for many years. As a busy adult, he had assumed he would never complete his graduate degree goals.
After some traumatic events and thoughts of his children’s future, Josh felt a renewed desire to return to school. He knew his schedule as a working adult would make traditional college too challenging, but Purdue Global offered exactly what he was looking for to achieve his goals.
Courtesy of a special introductory collaboration between Sophia and Purdue Global in 2021, Josh had about ten weeks to use Sophia completely free with access to most of the available courses. Josh took full advantage of the opportunity and took all the courses available to him, accelerating his degree program by almost a year.
Transferring courses for credit was a streamlined and easy process, according to Josh, due to both Sophia’s straightforward explanation of the course transfer process and Purdue Global credit equivalencies. Both organizations collaborated effectively, making the experience smooth for everyone.
For Josh, the self-paced nature of Sophia’s courses allowed him to use his natural drive to move at an accelerated pace, rather than a structured timeline.
Josh’s favorite courses at Sophia were those related to science and psychology – as expected with his majors. These have always been interests of his, combined with the joy in helping others. Another course highlight was public speaking, which helped Josh step out of his comfort zone and become more accustomed to giving presentations – a skill that’s foundational to a career in public health.
Realizing His Dream
Assisted by Sophia, Josh was able to accelerate his bachelor's degree allowing him to pursue his master's degree in public health. Now, nearly four years later, Josh is close to completing his doctorate and earning his title, along with a terminal degree in health sciences.
“It has been a dream of mine to become a doctor since I was a child. Thanks to Sophia, Purdue Global, and my own discipline and determination, my dreams will soon be able to come true.”
Josh’s Tips for Success
After Josh’s success, we asked what Sophia-specific tips he has to get the most out of the platform:
“The best tip I could advise on getting the most out of Sophia is to find what you have preferred interests in to start. Afterwards, make sure you set SMART goals on completing tasks. Having a focused mindset and a clear vision on what you want to achieve will help to create the most effective academic structure.”
How Can Sophia Help You?
As an adult learner, Josh is about to realize his dream of becoming a doctor. It’s never too late to start. If you’re ready to take the next step in higher education, learn more about Sophia’s flexible, affordable courses. Start your free trial today!
