Military to Master’s – William Blackman Has Done It All
Military to Master’s – William Blackman Has Done It All
At the young age of 67, William Blackman joined the Peirce College community to accomplish his goal of obtaining a college degree and to inspire his grandson to value the importance of education.
Taking a trip back in time, William graduated high school in 1964 and immediately joined the military and then the Philadelphia Police Department. After a few years working in law enforcement, he decided to give college a try.
College turned out to not be the right fit for him at that point in his life, but that was okay. He decided to focus his energy on the Philadelphia Police Department, continuing to protect and serve for 23 years. After retiring, though, from the police department, William wasn’t done yet.
He re-entered the military and began assisting younger soldiers with their education. That’s when he found Peirce College.
Steve Bird, now Peirce College’s Program Manager of Institutional Partnerships, was then our military student recruiter. After being in contact with Steve, William began sending some of his fellow soldiers to Peirce to further their education.
Following his commendable military career, William officially retired and said to himself, “what’s next?” Knowing the other soldiers’ positive experiences with Peirce and now having a grandson looking up to him, he decided it was time to chase (and complete) his dream of obtaining a college education.
In 2012, William reached back out to Steve. Before he knew it, he was all set up to start earning his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.
In December 2014, William accomplished his goal and proudly graduated with his bachelor’s degree. But, as history would have it, he wasn’t done yet. He enjoyed his undergraduate experience so much that he wanted to continue inspiring his grandson through the power of example by keeping his education going.
William joined Peirce’s Master of Science in Organizational Leadership and Management program the next year and started chasing another goal. “The transition from the bachelor’s program to the graduate program was easy!” says William. “Once you entered the program, everyone cared about you and wanted to see you graduate.”
And graduate was what he did. In August 2017, William officially completed his master’s program and will walk in the June 2018 commencement ceremony.
William only has good things to say about his time at Peirce.
“I valued my time with the classmates, the deans, the professors. The entire staff of Peirce is fantastic. They will stop and talk to you. Peirce knows their people.”
He also has some inspirational advice for anyone thinking about going back to school.
“Consider Peirce College for your undergrad or graduate degree. Peirce College cares about people. Everyone wants and tries to get you to graduate. Everyone becomes family and family wants to see you succeed.”
Finally, William has one final shoutout to the people at Peirce who helped him accomplish his educational goals.
“I really want to thank the professors, staff and classmates for helping me and for the encouragement to continue on. You all helped me pursue my endeavors of graduating with both my bachelor’s and graduate degrees.”
Congratulations to William Blackman! We wish him nothing but success on wherever life takes him next.
If you or someone you know is interested in earning their bachelor’s degree, reach out to Undergraduate Admissions at 215.670.9000 or admissions@peirce.edu. If you or someone you know is interested in earning their master’s degree, reach out to Graduate Admissions at 215.670.9325 or masters@peirce.edu.
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