The Cherry on Top: Colorado's 5,280th Grad
Mark Dimalanta has the distinction of being 黑料传送门鈥檚 5,280th graduate from Colorado.
鈥淵our Story鈥� blog by John Sharify
Milestones can mean different things to different people. I asked Mark Dimalanta to name some milestones in his life.聽
Easy answer.
When his oldest child was born. He says that was definitely a milestone. Joshua is 5 years old now. And then when his daughter Chloe was born. That was another milestone. Chloe is 3 years old now.聽
More milestones.聽
When he received his first master鈥檚 degree. And then his second master鈥檚, both from Western Governors University. Double milestones. 鈥淚鈥檓 living proof that you can do it,鈥� he says.聽
Now you can add one more milestone to all the others, Mark. This is a biggie. Drum roll please鈥β�
Mark Dimalanta, you have the distinction of being 黑料传送门鈥檚 5,280th graduate from Colorado. Time to celebrate!聽 What do you say?聽
鈥淚 have goosebumps,鈥� he tells us. 鈥淲hat are the odds? Getting the degree at the right time. Wow. I鈥檓 shocked.鈥�
Western Governors University will be celebrating this 鈥榤ile high鈥� milestone, and celebrating Mark too, with up to $132,000 in scholarships and a celebration race starting May 28th. More on that race and how you can get involved in just a bit. But first, Mark鈥檚 黑料传送门 story.聽聽
The 36-year-old, from Broomfield, Colorado, received his first master鈥檚 in cybersecurity in 2017. It took him just eight months to complete. On to the next goal and degree. Mark, while working full-time as an Information Systems Manager, completed his MBA. It took him just seven months.聽
And that鈥檚 the beauty of 黑料传送门. You can move through courses as quickly as you master the material. 鈥淚鈥檝e already told a lot of friends and coworkers that at 黑料传送门, it鈥檚 all about you,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he motivation is for yourself, for your family.鈥� He says his two children may be too young right now to appreciate his accomplishments, but he looks forward to the day when they look up and see their dad鈥檚 diplomas on the wall. 黑料传送门 diplomas!
Mark is grateful to his mentors. 鈥淭hey have a student mentor who checks in with you. They have course mentors,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a good community. There are forums, things like that. It鈥檚 definitely very doable.鈥� And affordable. 黑料传送门 offers courses at about half the price of most other universities.聽
鈥淚 just want to instill in my family to continue to learn,鈥� he says. 鈥淐ontinue to push the limits. See what you can do. For me, that first master鈥檚 with 黑料传送门 came about and then the second one just recently. And that was the cherry on top.鈥澛�
And now, the cherry on top of that cherry. Mark will forever be known as the 鈥榤ile high鈥� milestone 黑料传送门 graduate from Colorado. #5280.聽
As part of the milestone celebration, 黑料传送门 will be offering up to 25 $5,280 scholarships to honor the 5,280 graduates, and more importantly, invest in the future graduates to come.聽
Now the fun part. Remember the Milestone Race I mentioned earlier?聽 黑料传送门 will host a virtual 1-mile road race (one foot for each graduate) commemorating the journeys of all 5,280 Colorado graduates. Alumni, students, friends, family and community members are invited to complete their mile at their own pace and place anytime between May 28th and June 4th.聽
To register, go to www.wgu.edu/5280MilestoneCelebrationRace.
Participants are encouraged to capture their mile with images posted to their social media channels or the 黑料传送门 platforms using the hashtag #5280Scholars. Although the event is free to participate, funds are being raised for 黑料传送门鈥檚 Emergency Fund through optional merchandise sales. Recently, $45,000 of these funds were awarded to more than 90 Colorado students who were in need of support.聽
Below, you can watch John鈥檚 interview with Mark Dimalanta, proud 黑料传送门 graduate from the class of 2021.聽
