Christine Leonard-Cripps
Professional Writing Certificate specializing in Marketing and Public Relations
For people like Christine Leonard-Cripps, Continuing Education is a great way to improve – to learn new things and to continuously build on the knowledge you already have.
A University of Calgary alumnus with a BA in English, Christine has worked in libraries and archives since graduating two decades ago. Currently, she works full time at the University of Calgary library and maintains a second part-time career as a free-lance journalist, radio broadcaster, and blogger. She is also a wife, and mother of two young children.
Christine recently completed the Professional Writing Certificate specializing in Marketing and Public Relations. It was her first experience as an online student.
"I like being busy," Christine says. "But I've learned that good time management is important. When I am enrolled in an online course, Sunday night is my night for education. It's a good routine that doesn't take time away from my family."
Since she was already established as a writer, Christine's reasons for enrolling in the Professional Writing Certificate were different than most of her classmates.
"I enrolled because I wanted to sharpen my skills," she says. "The world of writing has changed dramatically in the last 20 years, so I felt it was time to expand my knowledge of the latest tools and how I could take advantage of them.
"The program was beneficial. It has helped me to efficiently and effectively produce a document. I know I was already doing this, but I can see definite improvement. I'm better at it now, and I have more confidence as a result.
"Online learning was more challenging than I expected. The courses definitely fill your plate. But I enjoyed it and appreciated the feedback I received from instructors. They were always quick to respond, whether it was in forums or in private emails."
Before taking the Professional Writing Certificate, Christine completed an in-class certificate program – the Certificate in Visual Design specializing in Art Theory and Practice. She has gone on to pursue the Creative Writing Certificate, another online program.