- Jaime Johnson, UMUC Student and Employee
MS in Management, Project Management Specialization
Graduate School of Management and Technology
MyUMUC Story:
Jaime Johnson's Family and UMUC Education Keep Her Moving Forward
By: Julie S. Epstein
When servicemember Jaime Johnson arrived at Andrews Air Force Base (AFB) in January 2005, she immediately began to look for a place to pursue her college education. While she wasn’t yet certain what her major would be, she knew she desired a university that could meet her unique needs. “I wanted a school that understood and cared about military families,” she said. “I didn’t want to get halfway through my degree and have to stop. The fact that UMUC is on military bases worldwide was very important to me.” She was additionally impressed with the wide range of undergraduate programs offered at UMUC, and enrolled in the human resource management program.
While a student, she learned of a vacant team assistant position in UMUC's Office of Maryland Operations on Andrews Air Force Base. The job, which she got, allowed her to help military students pursue an education just as she had done. Throughout the course of her undergraduate career, Johnson remained a full-time employee, full-time student, and occasional single mom while her husband was deployed. She also earned membership to two academic honor societies—Phi Kappa Phi and Alpha Sigma Lambda.
Taking what she learned in the classroom, Johnson sought an opportunity to explore the human resources field first-hand. She accepted a position with UMUC as an employment associate in the Office of Human Resources. "Seeing my degree materialize into a promotion within the university was very rewarding for me," said Johnson.
In addition to exploring human resources in her studies and work, Johnson was excited to learn about UMUC chartering a student chapter of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM)—the first and only student chapter to feature a distance learning component. As a member of SHRM, she served as vice president of Distance Learning Membership, helping connect UMUC students worldwide to the opportunities available through the organization.
After completing her bachelor’s degree, Johnson returned to Maryland Operations, where she was promoted to the assistant director of Support. She credits her UMUC education with providing her the extra boost she needed to get ahead professionally and helping her to make her academic goals a reality. With a bachelor’s degree under her belt, she is now pursuing her Master of Science in management with a specialization in project management and is halfway through the program.
While balancing motherhood, marriage, military service, a career, and school is not always easy, Johnson manages to find inspiration around her. "My children are my biggest motivation,” she said. “When I feel like giving up, I look at them and remind myself that I am doing this for them. I push myself to keep going and look forward to the day that I get to take a picture in my cap, gown, and master’s hood with my family standing beside me.”
