Returned to Terra State with focus

When April Stotz graduated from Fremont Ross, she came directly to Terra State Community College. “I had a friend that graduated two years before me that recommended Terra State,” she says. “However, I did not know what I wanted to do.” Because of that, April only took classes for a year.

April went to work for Kay Jewelers in Fremont performing sales and office duties. After working nineteen years for Kay Jewelers, she decided to return to Terra State. “I knew that I did not want to be a manager or go back to being an assistant manager for the company. I have three children and wanted to get into a career where I could drive myself to the top.” In Spring 2015, April reenrolled at Terra State.

With one year of classes at Terra State under her belt, April began working toward completing her Medical Coding Certificate. “Jill Caton, who was one of my professors, mentioned that it was just a few more classes to get my Health Information Technology (HIT) degree. I decided to go for both.” In Spring 2017, April earned her Associate HIT degree.

“With three children, I wanted to work from home,” says April. “I found that many coders work remotely. Now with my HIT degree, I have even more opportunities to work from home. I also have the opportunity to travel to another facility or relocate to a different country.”

• 
  DegreeHealth Information Technology (HIT)
• 
  Average Length of Study

  2 years, Full time

• 
  Average Cost

  $12,663

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• 
  Current Employer

  Student

 

Instead of getting back to work, April is now back in school, again. “I am taking classes at the University of Cincinnati through an all online program. I am working on my Health Information Management (HIM) degree. This degree will allow me to move into a human resources department, move into a management position or a different department, like utilization management.” She credits her Terra State professors for making her pursue her bachelor degree. “Jill Caton and Renee Patton both graduated from the program and loved it. They didn’t push it, but made it sound really good. With me now knowing what I wanted to do, I had more drive to get my bachelor degree.”

April has now gone full-circle from a high school graduate who did not know what she wanted to do to pursuing a bachelor degree while focusing on her future. “Professor Caton played a big role. She got me to open up and get involved. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have graduated with honors or received the awards I was honored with.”