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Students
Back to School
For many Pace students, learning doesn鶹ýt stop once one leaves the classroom for the day; or even, once one acquires their degree. Kevin McGovern 鶹ý83, 鶹ý21, who earned his bachelor鶹ýs in business administration and CPA designation thirty-eight years ago, epitomizes this ethos of persistence and the continual ability to evolve and grow with the times鶹ýwhich in fact, is one of the reasons he decided to return to Pace and pursue a master鶹ýs in cybersecurity.
鶹ýI鶹ýve been working with technologists for twenty years now,鶹ý said Kevin. 鶹ýI started with Merrill Lynch鶹ýs technology team, but I鶹ýve always kind of done things from an accountant鶹ýs perspective or a businessman鶹ýs perspective, not from the technology perspective. Now, I want to know more about how the technology actually works, which is why I came back to school.鶹ý
Kevin is one of Pace鶹ýs many students that decide to embark on the pursuit of education a second time around. He has had a successful career working with various technology teams across the financial services arena including Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase; yet he believes there is still always more to learn.
鶹ýI want to be able to speak both sides,鶹ý said Kevin.
While the core principles of Pace鶹ýand the Setter blue and gold color palette鶹ýremain a familiar and grounding constant for Kevin, returning to his alma mater for his graduate degree has been a drastically different experience. As a student at Pace鶹ýs Westchester Campus back in the 1980鶹ýs, Kevin鶹ýs undergraduate years had a profound impact on his life. He earned his undergraduate degree, lived on campus as an RA, and even found a circle of people that would become lifelong friends for him and who have remained very close to him today.
鶹ýDo it. Don鶹ýt give it a second thought. Do it. You will get a great student experience out of it.鶹ý
鶹ýWhen we get together, it feels like we鶹ýve been together forever. It is like we are all back in school again, but thirty-eight years later. We have been at each other鶹ýs weddings, our kids have grown up together, attended our kid鶹ýs birthday parties together, shared both weddings and funerals together. Other people look at it and say that it is 鶹ýsuch an odd thing鶹ý. It is a very good oddity.鶹ý
Today, Kevin is earning his degree by attending classes online, and has learned certain benefits about the new structure of virtual education and how it plays into his busy day-to-day life.
鶹ýCOVID changed the pace of everything we do, on a personal and business side, and that actually helped. Two years ago, it would have been much more difficult for me to balance both worlds.鶹ý
Kevin even discovered that the relationship that he has with his professors online is stronger than what he experienced as an undergraduate. While his experience may be drastically different than 1983鶹ýeight years before the world wide web was introduced to the public (on 8/6/91)! Kevin鶹ýs hunger for knowledge allows him to adapt and excel within the futuristic learning format.
One of the reasons he decided to pursue a graduate degree, he says, is due to the speed that the world is changing, and information is 鶹ýpouring out.鶹ý Through enrolling in the master鶹ýs program, he has seized upon the opportunities available to him to be more capable in anticipating and adapting to said changes. For example, he is currently collaborating with his professor and his peers on a project concerning quantum computing; a technology which Kevin explains will revolutionize computing itself.
鶹ýSay you have a car that can go seventy miles per hour and take you from New York to Boston in three hours. Now I come up to you and say I have a car now that goes seven hundred miles per hour so that you can get there in 10 minutes, and it鶹ýs safer than the other car.鶹ý That鶹ýs what quantum computing is.鶹ý
All in all, Kevin has found his return to school not only practical, but incredibly rewarding. When asked what he would say to someone considering pursuing an online degree, his answer is unwavering:
鶹ýDo it. Don鶹ýt give it a second thought. Do it. You will get a great student experience out of it.鶹ý