One Birmingham professional shares how the New College LifeTrack program fit her busy lifestyle

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Six years ago, Birmingham resident Monica Keuter started shopping for something special to commemorate her 40th birthday.

While she had already met important career goals, she wanted something more—a university degree.

Today, she’s still celebrating that gift to herself with a recent promotion and upcoming graduation in May from the New College LifeTrack program at The University of Alabama.

Read on to learn more about Monica’s success story.

Committed to her career + going for her degree

More than 2,000 nontraditional students like Monica have found a smart fit with this program for over 50 years, balancing priorities like their families and careers while continuing their education.

Monica will be the first university graduate in her family. She entered the workforce after high school and landed at Alabama Power Company in 2007, where she worked as a disability management coordinator and then as an administrative assistant supporting executive officers.

By 2019, she was ready to set some new goals.

“I wanted to be more educated and proud of my resume. New College LifeTrack seemed so perfectly structured around adults like me—people who have jobs and lives, who have to work while doing this. It just seemed doable.”
_{Monica Keuter}

Feeling supported + supporting others

Monica discussed the goal with her husband, Kraig, who immediately encouraged her and built a home office where she could focus on her studies. A former US Army paratrooper, he has been her “biggest cheerleader,” she says.

Some program advantages that appealed to Monica:

• A two-day, on-campus orientation introduces New College LifeTrack students to their advisors and fellow students.
• After that, students can complete coursework online.
• Instead of declaring a traditional major, NCLT students can choose one of four broader focus-study areas or design their own.

Monica’s experience supporting her company’s executives led her to choose the Leadership Studies focus study area.

Monica says her studies helped her gain many fundamentals she didn’t realize she was missing, which led her to see everyday scenarios from new perspectives.

In November 2024, Monica accepted a promotion to executive assistant, supporting two Southern Company senior leaders.

Expanding her horizons

To celebrate her graduation, Monica and Kraig plan to visit Germany, Austria and France this summer.

She says she even views travel differently after one of her elective classes in the NCLT program, Dr. Kim Colburn’s NCLT 494 The Big Easy class. The group studied New Orleans culture and history, then traveled to experience it firsthand.

“We learned about the city’s history from its earliest days through the Civil Rights Movement to Hurricane Katrina to now—and of course, its culture, from delicious food to the Blues. We examined every aspect from religion to the tourist trade. It was fascinating.

“Dr. Colburn has been phenomenal. She is approachable and really understands her students to make sure they gain value from the experiences.”
_{Monica Keuter}

Learn more about the New College LifeTrack program

If you see yourself in Monica’s story, she encourages you to dismiss self-doubt and pursue your desire for a degree.

“It has been a lifelong dream for me. I had to put myself first, and it started with that personal fulfillment. Then as I progressed, I saw how it bled into positive results in my professional work as a natural thing. It all worked together, and I think that was the way it was supposed to go.

“My parents both immigrated from Italy and always taught me you can do anything you want if you put your mind to it. … People need to hear that and believe that it’s true.”
_{Monica Keuter}

For more details about this flexible program for earning a degree at The University of Alabama, visit UA Online’s New College LifeTrack website.

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