Online and on task: These Pitt students prepare for a different kind of back-to-school experience

As another end of summer nears, Stephanie Theuret 's back-to-school preparations launch into overdrive.

The Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy teacher is putting the finishing touches on lesson plans for another school year. At home, she's helping her 7- and 9-year-old children get ready for elementary school. And in the evenings - or whenever she can find a few quiet moments between work, parenting and youth activities - she's logging into her Pitt Online certification program.

"It's definitely kind of in pieces," Theuret said of her study routine related to her online learning. "It's very rare and a luxury to be able to sit down for multiple hours uninterrupted."

While many University of Pittsburgh students are unpacking boxes for residence halls and planning life on campus, more than 1,500 Panthers are preparing for classes in a different way. Pitt Online offers 50-plus fully online or hybrid programs spanning fields from engineering and social work to business and law. It's a way of expanding access to education for those balancing careers, families and other responsibilities. While online students may learn away from campus, they often seek the identity, traditions and sense of belonging that come with being a Pitt student.

For Theuret, flexibility made returning to graduate school possible.

After earning a master's degree more than a decade ago through evening, in-person classes - she taught all day before driving an hour or so to classes that stretched until 10 p.m. - she knew she needed a different approach this time.

In June, Theuret enrolled in the School of Education's K-12 Principal Certification program. Her class in Institutional Leadership is asynchronous. She takes one class at a time while completing an internship with a mentor principal. The structure allows her to focus on each subject instead of juggling several classes simultaneously while working full time and raising a family.

It was a luxury, she said, "just to commit to the learning and not having to commit to all of the logistics of just getting to and from class."

Now, she said, preparing for a semester doesn't mean clearing her calendar. Instead, it means making the most of small windows of time.

Whether she's waiting during dance practice, arriving early for school pickup or finding a few quiet minutes at home, Theuret finds that if she keeps her laptop charged, she's always ready for her lessons.

"A charged laptop is basically me knowing, 'OK, I can do the schoolwork and learn from anywhere,'" she said.

'Creating a great environment'

While Theuret's summer was just the start of her Pitt Online experience, Jamarius Burton's journey was winding down. He recalled his preparation for his online learning required a different kind of discipline.

The former Pitt men's basketball standout recently completed Pitt's Master of Studies in Law program with a certificate in sports, arts and entertainment. He finished the two-year curriculum in just three semesters while serving as a graduate assistant with the men's basketball program. He was recently promoted to player development coach. Before classes even began, Burton (A&S '22) invested in creating a dedicated workspace at home with multiple computer screens, stocked up on textbooks and paper because he was prepared for detailed note-taking from his lectures. "I wanted to have all the materials possible," he said. "It was all about creating a great environment for me at home because the program is online." Each week, Burton mapped out study blocks around basketball practices, travel schedules and game days, knowing the pace of the program demanded about 30 hours of coursework each week. The online format made his regimen possible. Course materials became available online each Sunday, allowing him to complete assignments whenever his schedule permitted - whether late at night after returning from a road game or early in the morning before the team's day began. "The structure provided me the ability to do the classwork whenever I could," Burton said. Thinking like a student again For Beverly Gillot (SOC WK '84, SPIA '89G), returning to school after decades away meant the Pitt alum had to do more than set aside time to study. It meant creating an environment where she could think like a student again. A community and state compliance officer for a healthcare insurance company, Gillot works remotely from her Wexford home. She earned her bachelor's degree in social work from Pitt in 1984 before obtaining her first graduate degree, a Master of Public and International Affairs five years later. Although she built a successful career, she long regretted never earning the Master of Social Work degree that would allow her to fully pursue the profession she loved. Several attempts to return to school stalled because traditional programs required field placements that conflicted with her full-time job. Pitt's online MSW program changed that by allowing her to complete her practicum through her current employer. To prepare for each semester, Gillot separates work from school in a very intentional way. Downstairs is her professional home office, where she spends the workday. Upstairs is a second desk devoted to her coursework, decorated with Pitt notebooks, a Panthers mousepad and other blue-and-gold reminders of the University. "It's kind of like a dorm room," she said with a laugh. "But I wanted to feel like a student." The physical separation helps create a mental one. After finishing work, she'll head to the gym or take a walk before changing clothes and settling into her "student" workspace. "It separates me mentally," she said. "The work that I do for work and the way I do that work is very different from the academic world. You really have to get into that other mentality." Although most of her classes happen online through weekly modules and recorded lectures, Gillot still looks for ways to stay connected to the University. Every so often, she'll drive to Oakland and spend a Saturday studying in the Cathedral of Learning or Hillman Library, reconnecting with the campus that first inspired her more than 40 years ago. "I miss campus," she said. "I do love Pitt." Top photo by Aimee Obidzinski