The Mason Spirit

Arlenne Hall
Business Management Pathway

When Arlenne Hall graduated from high school, college was not at the forefront of her mind. The oldest of four siblings, she says, “There was no type of college fund for me, and I knew that two of my biggest responsibilities during high school and out of high school were to take care of my sisters and to support the family.”

She jumped straight into community service opportunities, and that work led her to a recruitment offer from an IT company. Fast forward a decade later, and Hall is now a business process analyst for Northrop Grumman. So why now, in the midst of a successful career, did she decide to give ADVANCE a try?

ADVANCE student Arlenne Hall. Photo by Lathan Goumas/Office of Communications and Marketing

“I think there’s a niche of people who are able to go pretty far without a degree,” she says, “but…I want every door open in front of me, not just most doors.”

Enrolled in the business management pathway, and taking classes primarily at NOVA, Hall has big dreams. “I could see myself being a C-suite-level executive, maybe in a chief operating officer-type role,” she says. “I can see myself going as far as that if I decide to keep pushing.”

Prior to becoming part of ADVANCE’s fall 2019 incoming class, Hall says that years ago, she’d heard stories about students taking classes at NOVA, only to find that many of their credits would not apply to the bachelor’s degree they wanted to achieve at Mason.

But after reading about ADVANCE, she soon changed her mind. “Seeing that I wasn’t going to have that problem because [the courses are] all preselected is a huge selling point. You see the light at the end of the tunnel; you know when you’re going to be done.”