A Customized Degree Built for the Future

Completing his undergraduate degree through the College of Continuing and Professional Studies did more than just tick a box for Neil Urbanski. It opened his eyes to the possibilities, both good and bad, of emerging technology and reignited a love of writing.

Strengthening a Professional Foundation

After earning his associate’s degree, Neil entered the nonprofit world, working as a job and workforce development counselor with refugee resettlement organizations. He hadn’t seriously considered going back to college until he learned about the Multidisciplinary Studies (MDS) major from a coworker. The idea of building your own degree appealed to him, so he attended an information session and enrolled in 2021.

Neil didn’t know exactly what he wanted to build his major around, but he knew he wanted to explore the factors that influence how a person experiences their job, like how their organization communicates, absorbs change, or other elements that can impact them day-to-day.

So he focused on courses in business and sociology related to people and how they interact with organizations. He knew from his background working with refugees that different cultures have different relationships with their jobs. He also drew on his own professional collaborations with various nonprofits.

Neil also took leadership classes with the intention of strengthening his communication and collaboration skills. In his current role, he’s already been able to apply some of the skills he’s gained, like applying new strategies for facilitating meetings, communicating effectively, and leading in different ways. For example, he is creating new techniques to visualize data that relays important information and tells meaningful stories.

Discovery and Opportunity

One class in particular opened his eyes to a world that he hadn’t really studied before: digital transformation in business. “I've never been a big user of technology in my personal life,” Neil admits. “I don't have social media, and I was one of the last people I know to get a smartphone.” But he took the course because he understands the power of technology and the tremendous role it plays in his job and how organizations, in general, function.

While Neil didn’t perform a “digital transformation” of his life, he did begin to engage more with the beneficial aspects of technology. He enrolled in several other classes that discussed subjects like human machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), including the many ways AI touches our everyday lives.

“I work in a team that manages a contact center,” he says, “and I've learned a lot about all the different ways that AI impacts employee and customer experiences that I never really fully considered before.”

Another area that the MDS major unlocked for Neil was his love of writing. He took a lot of writing intensive classes simply because he enjoyed them. Eventually, he wondered how he could combine writing with his hobbies and interests, like hockey.

He applied, and was accepted, to be a contributing writer for a hockey website, writing mostly about the Minnesota Wild. “It's been something that definitely wouldn't have happened had I not gone back to school and started writing and exploring different ways that I can express myself,” Neil says.

Start With Your Why

On top of the personal benefits, Neil decided to complete his degree to give himself more career opportunities that he may not have been positioned for years ago. While he isn’t certain of what might come next, he does feel prepared.

“I have some avenues that I might be able to take that are open to me now, or will be open to me, with the experience that I've accrued over the years working and the foundational knowledge that I've gained from my degree. I definitely don't plan to stagnate.”

One of the advantages of going back to school as an older adult, he adds, is that it is “a hundred percent” his choice. There is no social pressure or expectation. ”And the value that comes with that enables you to really focus on what's important to you.”

Pro Tips for Students

• Be open-minded. You're in classes with people that have different backgrounds and are from different generations. Be really open minded to their perspectives. Be willing to grow and embrace the opportunity.
• Take advantage of what the MdS degree offers, because it really allows you to own your education. It's rare that you find a structured place where you can also create the structure. I didn't know what I would pick for a major, and this allowed me to pursue interests that fit within a framework.
• Also, be sure to connect with your advisor. My advisor (Lisa Garrett) has an encyclopedic knowledge of the University's course catalog and was always able to suggest classes that fit my degree plan and worked with my schedule.

Memorable Course

Rhetoric, Technology, and the Internet (WRIT 3577W)

“It focuses on the different ways we engage with and talk about technology and the impact that rhetoric can have on our implementation of and interactions with technology. That was a transformative class in terms of reframing my perspective on things like ethics and technology from a philosophical or human rights lens, and how social justice is, theoretically at least, woven into technology, with the goal of trying to develop ethics minded developers and users.”

Neil is a recipient of a Nolte Miller and an Osher Reentry scholarship.

In addition to the Multidisciplinary Studies degree, CCAPS offers two other customizable undergraduate majors: Health and Wellbeing Sciences and Inter-College Program.