Graduation Journey: Steven Doty

Steven Doty is graduated this past summer with a Bachelor of Arts in Media Communications (B.A.).

“As a professional Airman in the United States Air Force, and more specifically as a photographer and strategic communicator, there are a lot of demands for hours outside of a typical “9 to 5” timeframe. Furthermore, travel requirements can strain any options for in-residence learning and for predicting from one semester to the next what courses I could complete. I initially tried to balance both lifestyles but quickly realized that online learning offered the greatest flexibility, and then much later learned that I operated better by learning on my own and under a calendar-driven timeframe. Online learning also enhanced my time management and organizational skills. By being able to project-out assignments and reading requirements, I was then able to balance that against my Air Force-driven calendar. Once I fully committed to this mindset and for earning my degree at Webster University, I was able to better prepare for courses and devise a task schedule that was ultimately what drove me to completing my degree in a short amount of time.”

Professor Joe Schuster said this of Steven Doty, our Online Undergraduate Student Leadership Award winner:

“First, Steve Doty is one of the finest students I have encountered in 30+ years of teaching at Webster University, this despite so many forces that could have distracted him from his work as a student. For example, while he was in a course I taught, and later completing his senior overview, which I mentored, he also worked full-time, as a Technical Sergeant at Laughlin Air Force base in Texas, in public affairs, focused on strategic communications. In that time, he was recognized by the Air Force for his efforts to streamline a dozen Air Force installation public affairs agencies and for spearheading his wing’s website migration, among other impressive accomplishments. Adding still more demands on his time, in his last year at Webster, he and his wife had their first child, and relocated to a new assignment, in Alaska. Nonetheless, even given that, Steve remained extremely dedicated to his education; his work was always the best in the class and the writing he did for his overview was of professional caliber.”