A Graduate Reinvents Her Path With BS and MS Degrees in Health Care Administration

Victoria Durnell has used her Purdue Global bachelor’s and master’s degrees not only to change fields but to create her own promotion. What’s next for her? Going back for her doctorate.

With every degree she has earned, she has moved forward in big ways. Her online bachelor’s degree in health care administration allowed her a seamless transition from education to health care. After earning her online master’s degree in health care administration, she was not only hired but also created a new position for herself at Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. In the fall of 2024, she plans to go back again for her Doctor of Health Science. She’s hoping to use her voice to write for publications on African American and women’s health issues — instigating change at the government level.

So what fostered this rise in a completely new career path?

A Time for Reinvention

Durnell had been working for years in an education administration role but felt her career was at a crossroads. With her superintendent retiring, she knew her school system would change, and she didn’t want to get left behind. She was too young to retire, so she felt her options were to either stay in her current position or go back to school and change her field.

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Durnell found herself looking in the mirror and reflecting on her career, asking, “Am I happy doing what I’m doing? Can I do this for another 15 or 20 years?”

These are difficult questions for any working adult to answer, but after considering her possible future paths, she knew what she had to do. After seeing an advertisement and enacting a quick Google search, she found the perfect avenue for what she calls her “reinvention”: earning her degree from Purdue Global.

How does a person decide to pursue a completely new field after a long career in a different area? For Durnell, it was about discovering what she was truly passionate about. She realized it was her time to follow her love for sports and exercise, which also aligned perfectly with the growing health and wellness field.

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She noticed most medical offices need a health and wellness professional who focuses on keeping people healthy, and she wanted to be that person. Her previous experience in education involved administration and management, and she knew she could apply those skills to this new industry — an industry that excited her.

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Another, very unexpected, person in Durnell’s life followed a similar career detour, which proved to her that she could make this dream a reality.

“My gynecologist was an English teacher, and when she retired, she went back to medical school and became a gynecologist. She is still an excellent surgeon at almost 80,” she says. “It just proved to me that it’s never too late.”

Purdue Global stepped in to foster that seamless transition from one field to the next. This change was made easier for her because she was able to use her work experience for college credit. “My advisor let me know that, because I was in a full-blown career, I was able to take two years off my time earning my degree. It ended up saving me thousands of dollars,” she says.

Durnell started toward her degree in 2019 and was able to earn her online bachelor’s degree in 2021. She jumped quickly into her master’s program once she realized it would move her even further along in a new career. “I knew the online master’s degree was going to make me more marketable. When I looked into it, I noticed that the workload was very manageable and convenient,” she says.

Durnell celebrated her graduation with a Master of Health Care Administration degree by 2023.

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“I just wanted to share it and shout it and let people know,” Durnell says, smiling as she reflects on her experience. “I thought to myself, ‘Wow, I really did do this.’ This was a four-year journey, and I was so proud of myself.”

Durnell is grateful that she could focus on school full-time and waited until finishing her master’s degree online to apply for a new position. At first, she felt intimidated by rejoining the workforce but was pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

“I didn’t know what was going on in the world of employment,” she says. “So I threw my resume out there, and I was very shocked at how many callbacks I got. The Purdue name helped.”

She landed a position as coordinator of health and wellness at Big Brothers Big Sisters, a title that attracted her because she knew she could use her school and administrative experience. Not long after starting work as a coordinator, she designed a new director role for herself from the ground up. She felt strongly that they needed someone who not only coordinates but assumes responsibility for the overall physical activities of the organization throughout the year. She ensures each activity resonates with grant requirements, organizational objectives, and most importantly, the children’s aspirations and needs.

“I kept advocating for that, and it was created for me,” she says, overflowing with pride.

En Route to a Doctorate in Health Science

Durnell loves her work now, and she only wants to increase the positive effect she has on others. When advocating for her new director position, she also told her CEO that she wanted to get her online Doctor of Health Science (DHSc) from Purdue Global.

When she talked to her husband about going back for her third degree, Durnell says, “My husband tells me he can’t even think of a time when I didn’t have a laptop in front of me. He actually just got his PhD, so he’s really proud.”

Soon there could be two Durnells with doctorates, an exciting thing for her to think about. “He pushes me to do things like pursuing my own doctorate degree. I’m so proud of him too, but of course, my competitive side is jealous he got there first,” she says, chuckling.

When Durnell received a Purdue Global email with doctorate information, she looked at the course load and felt the pieces falling into place, exclaiming, “Oh, my God, this is for me!”

In her current role, she works with grant programs, which helped her realize a desire to dive further into public health issues and possibly work for the state. Indiana has been identified as a state with health challenges like obesity, smoking, and food desert areas, and Durnell has made it her mission to bring exposure to these issues.

“I’m changing lives with kids and families right now, and I enjoy this work so much, so I look forward to bringing more change,” Durnell says. She also has the long-term goal to write for publications on women’s health issues, a topic that was inspired by her family. Durnell has daughters, so she wants to help bring information to her own family, and women like them so that they can learn more about their bodies and choices.

“It is a big deal for women to be able to know these things,” she says.

She is hoping to write about the intersectionality between African American studies, women’s health disparities, and diabetes.

“I’m very passionate about that, so I’m definitely planning to dive in,” she says.

Deciding to return to school for the third time wasn’t an easy decision for Durnell, but she can’t wait to see what she will accomplish. After completely changing fields and creating her own position, there really is no limit to what change Durnell will inspire in her community once she holds a doctorate.

“The opportunity to tackle some of these issues is really big, and I think to have that credential will solidify that more for me,” she says. “The Purdue Global name on my doctorate will make it even better. I can see it.”

After taking a beat to think more about the future she is manifesting for herself by starting her Doctor of Health Science in the fall of 2024, with an optimistic smirk, she concludes, “I’ll have a doctorate. Yeah, I’m that girl.”

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