“It’s honestly been quite a roller coaster.”
Ellen Butler worked her way through a dizzying series of twists and turns, before earning her BSBA in Management online from the University of ֱ at Lafayette.
She changed schools, she changed majors, she sat out semesters, and through it all she supported herself financially.
“Pretty much since I graduated high school, I’ve had to pay my own way for college and just life in general,” says Butler.
Butler’s roller coaster began to smooth out when she was hired to work full-time in bookkeeping at Red Lerille’s Health & Racquet Club in 2018.
She gained a set schedule, a steady income, and a new drive to get her degree back on track.
“That kind of re-lit the flame for me for business and management,” says Butler, who had started out majoring in accounting before trying a different discipline.
Butler found the B.S.B.A. in Management program online in the University’s selection of business degrees and recognized that the online option would give her the flexibility to keep working full-time.
Finding her Pace
Butler had two positive reactions to getting back on track: a huge boost to her confidence and feeling like she had finally found the right major for her.
“I felt more comfortable in the program,” she says. “I was a little more interested in what I was learning.”
Unfortunately, the strength of her optimism and initiative led Butler to overwhelm herself with a heavy class-load.
Butler’s advisor, Dr. Dione Davis, stepped in and recommended Butler slow down, and after two overloaded semesters she listened.
Still, Butler faced the challenge of finding and maintaining balance between her job, school, family and friendships.
“It’s always been a big balance with making sure I’m working enough to keep a roof over my head, but also not working too much … That’s definitely been the biggest challenge.”
With some trial and error, Butler calibrated her weekly habits and found what worked for her.
“At first, I was just dedicating my weekends to doing all my schoolwork,” says Butler. “I realized quickly that is not sufficient at all and it burns me out.”
Instead, Butler would dedicate some weeknights to readings and assignments and only use Sundays if necessary.
Family and friends leaned in to support Butler, cheer her on, and enforce that balance where they could.
“I’m lucky that I have a lot of family in Lafayette, so I might not get to hang out with them much, but they’d tell me ‘Ellen, why don’t you come over, we’re cooking dinner tonight,’” says Butler.
Likewise, Butler says friends were supportive and understanding about having “chill” friend times like watching movies at home so she “would still be able to study.”
The support was vital because Butler could be hard on herself when the stress mounted. Most often, she felt discouraged that her undergraduate degree was taking more than four years to complete.
“There were so many times that I wanted to give up,” says Butler. “But then there were so many times when I was like, ‘Ellen, you’re right there. You’re so close. You’re not going to come and do all this work to not have something to show for it.’”
Forging Ahead
Butler earned her bachelor’s degree in Fall ‘22, and before graduating, she also began her own business.
“It’s called ; it’s permanent jewelry,” says Butler. “I do little pop-ups and events; I’ll do parties and things like that, and it’s really like kind of taken off.”
She also remains dedicated to her role in bookkeeping at the health club. As she and her position grow and change, she’s using more and more of what she learned in her business and management classes.
“I’m like half bookkeeping, half HR and payroll,” she says. “I love it. So, I hope to stay there for a long time.”