This Young Man Earned TWO Tuition-Free Master's Degrees From Columbia

This Young Man Earned TWO Tuition-Free Master’s Degrees From Columbia

Congratulations are in order for one young man who earned not one, but TWO, master’s degrees from Columbia University at NO COST to him. Yep, you read that right.

“When Maurice Wiggins moved to New York from Florida, he knew he wanted to get an advanced degree and he knew that he wanted to earn it from Columbia University. But he would have to get in. And he would have to figure out how to pay for it,” the Columbia University Irving Medical Center website states. “As luck would have it, Wiggins was recruited in 2011 for an HR position at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC). Most regular, full-time salaried University employees who have completed two years of continuous service may take advantage of a benefit that pays full tuition for their undergraduate and graduate courses at Columbia University, Barnard College, and Teachers College. The children of eligible employees also may qualify for a 100% tuition exemption for undergraduate degrees at Columbia and Barnard College.”

After working for two years, Wiggins applied to the University’s School of International and Public Affairs, intent on getting his executive master of public administration (EMPA) degree. After earning that one, he went right back to school and got his master of science degree in strategic communications.

“Where I came from, Columbia and schools like it weren’t within the realm of what we thought we could achieve,” he told CUIMC Today. “It was a personal goal for me to be able to say ‘I can go there, and I can graduate.’”

“Time management has been key,” he told the site in reference to how he balanced a full-time job and classes on the weekends and some weeknights. “It was also really helpful that the things I was learning about I could actually practice at work. Some of the projects covered information that I would bring back and implement.”

The site states he graduated this month… salute to the Black King.