Eddie Talbot is celebrating some big milestones this year.
The Lafayette native recently marked the beginning of a new decade, turning 50, and will soon hold a bachelor鈥檚 degree from the University of 棉花糖直播 at Lafayette. 
Talbot has had a solid 25-year career in advertising, working with notable organizations, including the Quick Quarter, Pixus Digital Printing, The Daily Advertiser, and 鈥 for the last 14 years 鈥 BBR Creative, where he鈥檚 the IT and digital production director.
But Talbot still had one box unchecked on his to-do list: finish his bachelor鈥檚 degree.
Talbot studied applied arts at the University in the 鈥90s but says he ended up having to prioritize rent and other expenses over finishing his degree. He says he was only missing some electives and foundation courses.
In 2016, he decided to enroll in UL Lafayette鈥檚 on-campus General Studies degree program to finish what he鈥檇 started. However, working full time made it difficult to schedule courses.
鈥淚 had taken a couple of classes that were offered after 5, but I quickly ran out of options,鈥 he says. 鈥淭o continue my degree, I would have had to start attending during business hours.鈥
Then, in 2017, the University launched its General Studies Online program, tapping BBR Creative to help get the word out.
The online program was just the right fit for Talbot.
With the support of his wife and his employer, he moved into the online General Studies degree program.
Adapting to online coursework wasn鈥檛 a hurdle for Talbot. But taking a math class after 20 years? That was another story.
"The coursework, for the most part, wasn鈥檛 intrusive,鈥 he says. 鈥淭he only class that really ate my time up was statistics class. That one took a whole lot of after-hours and weekend work. I had to retrain my brain for that type of thinking.鈥
Surprisingly, Talbot says that was also one of his favorite courses.
鈥淭hat was very handy, and I wanted to continue that study enough that I bought a couple of extra books to keep up with that and learn a little bit more,鈥 he says. 鈥淭he different types of thinking and logic involved really sharpens you up.鈥
He says it was important to him not to take out loans, so he took fewer classes each semester so he and his wife could cover the costs. It took a little longer, but Talbot is graduating without student debt.
Talbot says earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree means he鈥檚 better insulated against the unexpected.
鈥淚鈥檝e got a very stable job, so my goal was just to go back and finish what I started,鈥 he says. 鈥淏ut if I would have any sort of employment issues in the future, this degree could be really good to have because a lot of employers won鈥檛 even look at you if you don鈥檛 have a degree. I鈥檝e got 25 years of industry experience, but that wouldn鈥檛 get me in the door some places if I didn鈥檛 have a degree.鈥