Greetings from Loveland, Colorado, ya’ll.  My preferred name is Stacy Monroe.  By day I am the safety manager (snowmobile thrasher, drone operator, mop pusher) at a major ski park in Loveland CO.  I am also a former active duty (Army, 4 years).  I am also transitioning from a man to a woman (oi…just saying that…that took a number of years of self-reflection and therapy)...and I am a finance major (1) at Purdue Global.


So, why do I attend Purdue Global?  There are other fully online universities. The answer is pretty simple: Purdue Global ticked off all the boxes.  


First, Purdue Global’s commitment to DEI is top-tier.  Purdue Globals’ published DEI policies meet the A+ ranking on the ACLU, Hurman Right’s Campaign, GLAAD, Equality Federation, among others.  In addition, Purdue Global far exceeds DEI  federal guidelines.  


Second, I love where I live. I don’t have the time or desire to attend a non-traditional brick-and-mortar campus.  Could you imagine having to drive 30-60 mins just to attend a class.  Pure madness!


Third, the GI Bill covers all Purdue Global costs, including a housing stipend for my condo in Loveland.  Forwarding thinking, federal government. In the past, for GI Bill students did not get their housing covered if they attended a fully online university (2).  According to Purdue Global’s metrics, a third of the 750,000 enrolled students are students just like me: attending college on the GI Bill (3).  I can understand why: it is a bit of a no brainer!


Ok, moving forward. I quickly want to share with you a ‘day in the life’ within the Purdue Global Metacampus (4) (5).  Depending on the season (and I certainly enjoy the flexibility of taking less courses during the ski season), I ‘drop into’ the metacampus late afternoon, early evening, courtesy of my VR lenses without the clunky headware (6)..  I typically like to arrive at the ‘quad’, an open area at the center of the campus where I can enjoy the tranquil sounds of distant chatter, the odd frisbee (including campus pets…which is a whole other story), student advocacy groups, etc.  The sense of community is palatable.  And by community, this is my community.  Because I am currently transitioning, I am allowed to alter my avatar to my preferred gender (standard Purdue Global policy limits any avatar policy the standard ‘10% rule’ - can’t change your avatar more than 10% of your physical body…most of us shave off some weight!).  Now, I only just transitioned and this personal journey is quite emotional. And, since I have not fully transitioned at my job or to some of my friends and family, Purdue Global has placed me in the top tier DEI server (Purdue Global currently has 17 servers: mostly identical copies of the campus but with different populations.  This is done so students, staff, and faculty, can see the same, friendly faces.  And, since I selected ‘DEI friendliest’ server, here I am!).


Anyhow, I have A full day ahead of me. Post quad relaxation (which also allows my noggin to acclimate to the virtual reality), I typically walk (yea, I walk…I am old school) to my first class with my shiny ‘PG virtual running club’ logo’d Nikes.  After crossing the quad, I make my way to the Walton Building of Business Management, an imposing bit of architecture.  My particular course, MT481: Financial Markets, is located on the second floor.  I thoroughly love MT481: the course includes access to financial market data that we then customize through our friendly AI, Pete, to better analyZe future commodity markets, etc.  We run ‘what if’ simulations to better understand geopolitical events, supply chain issues, etc.  It really boggles the mind to our immersive these scenarios can get!  You can tell how much I love this sort of immersive, experiential learning.  Anyhow.


Oh, here’s a bit of trivia: Walmart’s corporate degree plans and students are housed on floors four-seven.  But, I still get to mingle with Walmart students on the first three floors within our non-corporate-centric courses.  And, since I toggled ‘corporate interest’ in my settings, Walmart, Lockheed, Ford, Amazon, etc, do get updated information regarding my course stats, field simulations, etc. So, even though I have yet to formally apply for a corporate internship, these corporations (among others that PG has a relationship with) already academically know a bit about me.


Ok, I gotta run. I need to tune my violin for an upcoming PG virtual band practice.  BTW, I love PG’s virtual band.  I love participating with such a wonderful group of diverse people.  So many different ages and nationalities.  And, we have such a blast sharing the experience of a ~300 person orchestra.  We can truly crank out some wonderful music!


Ciao!