Chicago Ceremony Celebrates the Talent and Accomplishments of 2,500-Plus Online Graduates from Around the World

America Ferrera, star of the ABC mega-hit comedy series “Ugly Betty,” described education as not a luxury, but a necessity during her keynote speech to Kaplan University’s summer 2009 graduating class. Addressing hundreds of Kaplan University online graduates, she shared her own educational experience, highlighting how flexible, non-traditional options have allowed her to fulfill both her professional and educational goals.

“Education is the key to improving our economic standing and most importantly, our understanding of the world,” Ferrera told graduates during the ceremony held in the Grand Ballroom at Chicago’s Navy Pier. “With your degrees, knowledge, and passion for learning, you are now going back into the world to better the lives of those around you. Your education has made it possible for you to do that.”

Ferrera, like many Kaplan University students, has had to balance her work and education, having studied international relations at the University of Southern California while working full time as an actor. Three-quarters of Kaplan University’s online students are women, many of them juggling work and family responsibilities while they pursue their degrees.

The University began offering online degrees in 2001 with just 34 students, and today serves more than 58,000 online and campus-based students, and more than 19,000 online alumni. During the ceremony, hundreds of graduates strode across the stage to collect their degrees and shake hands with the faculty who guided them through their programs.

Among them was Heidi VanMetre, an Army wife and mother of two who earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and graduated with a 4.0 G.P.A. VanMetre was selected from an impressive group of graduates to deliver the student commencement address.

“Receiving my degree online allowed me to reach my goals while my husband was fighting for our country,” VanMetre told her fellow classmates, many of whom traveled from across the country and overseas to meet their peers and professors face-to-face for the first time. “There are many individuals who make excuses as to why they cannot reach their goals, and why they do not continue on with their education. I did not want to be one of those individuals…I realized that did not want to settle for less than I really wanted out of my career.