Student Experience: Sharon D. Gray

“I enrolled in Dallas College because my supervisor approached me at work and said that she was impressed by my job performance and was interested in mentoring me for a management position. But there was one drawback: I didn’t have a college degree. She and my mother began to encourage me to consider going back to school. 

“I made an appointment for advisement in Management and Marketing, and once I spoke with [Marketing Careers coordinator] Dr. Diane Minger, I knew this was the right program for me and the direction I needed to choose. Outside of family and friends who encouraged me, Dr. Minger and the rest of the staff were definitely the best part of the program.  “

After taking a few years off from school working 40 hours and going to school full time, it was initially a challenge, but their passion for teaching made the experience worthwhile. My supervisor and upper management quickly began to notice I was using the knowledge that I acquired in the classroom and would use the onsite co-op visits to measure my work performance. 

“I have definitely begun to take on more duties, and in recent years I have been receiving accolades and commendations for providing quality service. It felt good when my director told me he could see that the company’s reimbursement program for my tuition was paying off and that he would definitely continue to approve funding for my education. 

“I’ve learned that it’s never too late for your dreams to come true — you just have to keep pushing. With patience and determination, hard work will pay off. It just takes getting started. I would like to thank Dallas College for my educational experience; now I plan to pursue a bachelor’s degree and become the first in my family to earn a college degree. Going back to school was definitely one of the best choices I’ve made in my life, and I’m starting to see it pay off as I pursue a position in management at AT&T. I would definitely recommend the program to anyone; all it takes is one class to get your passion for learning back, and you will want to push for more. Once they speak with Dr. Minger they will truly understand why this is the best decision to change their life, and this too will be their story.” 

Sharon Gray earned an associate degree in Business Marketing and Management in August 2010, earning the Management and Supervisor certificates, along with the Leadership Marketable Skills Achievement award in the Management program and the Sales Marketing Associate certificate in the Marketing program. In her job as network operations manager, Sharon works with project managers, the accounts payable department and outside vendors to process purchase orders and payments and verifies documents and prepares reports to ensure milestones are met to complete cell-site projects and initiatives across the North Texas market area.

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