This UoPeople Student Believes in Learning Through Life Experiences

Meet Brandon J., a California native now living in Japan. Brandon has always shown an interest in education for as long as he can remember. Along with education, sports also had a great pull in Brandon’s life. He participated in a wide variety of sports from basketball, little league baseball, soccer to football.

Brandon attended St. Francis High School in Mountain View, which he believes was, “an almost perfect school that came with a high tuition.” Brandon’s siblings went to the same school simultaneously and recognized the high cost his parents had to pay. Brandon even at a young age believed the tuition costs needed to be lowered to make education accessible to everyone. “My father owned a printing shop and my mother worked at an insurance company. I watched our parents work tirelessly to afford our education. It was depressing to think that all of my parents’ hard-earned money went into our education.”

Not only did Brandon’s parents have to work hard to pay tuition for the family, but Brandon himself worked to earn money. “I had to constantly work on the side to support myself. I washed parking lots and served food in the school’s lunch line. I had several odd jobs to pay my way through high school and I think education should be much more accessible and affordable. This is the chief reason why I believe so much in UoPeople’s mission of providing affordable educational access to learners around the world,” he says.

Brandon’s life took a tragic turn when his father suffered massive injuries in a devastating car crash. “My father was suddenly disabled and I had to run my father’s printing shop,” he shares.

Brandon managed to apply and get into the University of Portland in Oregon, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing management.

When it came to deciding on a long-term profession, the decision was simple. “Ever since high school, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher. But it was important first to experience the real world. My plan was to make and save up money before I devoted myself fully to teaching. I began working as a salesman. Times were rough, but I somehow managed. However, I didn’t feel fulfilled just making money, I wanted to make a difference,” he admits.

Inspired by his brother’s wife who was teaching abroad, Brandon decided to give up his job as a salesman and applied to teach English in Japan. This satisfied Brandon’s drive to both teach and travel. It also made him realize how important it is to chase your dreams and do what matters most to you.

What does Brandon hope his students remember in years to come? “I want to impart practical knowledge to my students,” he says.

Once Brandon made up his mind to devote himself to teaching, he understood immediately that a master’s degree in education was a must to advance his career. He first heard about University of the People through social media.

Understandably, University of the People sounded just too good to be true – even though it is! “Initially I wasn’t willing to believe such a university existed. After being in Japan for 7 years, I wanted to move back to the U.S. I wanted to get an M.Ed. online before I moved back, so I could find a suitable teaching job. I searched for two years and got tired as I came across only massive tuition rates everywhere I looked. The thought of paying off a large amount of student loans made me feel sick,” he says with a shake of his head.

Now, what does Brandon think about UoPeople? “I call it my best academic decision so far.” He tells us with a laugh, “I’ve just begun my third term at UoPeople and my only wish is that I had started sooner. The instructors I’ve met have been super supportive and wonderful. The curriculum is rigorous but rewarding. I love what I am learning in my M.Ed. program.”

Brandon’s favorite benefit of UoPeople is the fact that he can learn from anywhere, can give time to his family, and also work full-time. “The other online universities I found had a set time for classes and lectures. So, managing to learn while working in the Japanese time zone would have meant being online at 3 AM and I wasn’t ready for that. It would defeat the purpose of online flexibility,” says Brandon.

What does the future hold for Brandon after earning his M.Ed. at UoPeople? In the near future, he plans to teach at the same high school he attended as a student in California. He is excited to teach the topics of history and theology. He is also considering teaching at a kindergarten and would like to explore the possibility of eventually starting his own in Portland Oregon.

Throughout all of his vast experiences Brandon passes along a piece of his mother’s advice, “…the real learning happens while traveling, not just inside the classroom.” At UoPeople, we encourage you not only to learn through your course curriculum but to go out in the world, apply what you’re learning and gain real-life experiences like Brandon.