Combining Previous Credits with Work & Military Experience: Meet Joey Juarez

Joseph (Joey) Juarez had more than 20 years of work experience, an associate degree, and a military background. Despite these commendable achievements, Joey realized a majority of the places he was seeking employment required a bachelor’s degree. His realization became even clearer when he started training and onboarding employees with a higher degree than him.

This was a wake-up call for Joey who realized it didn’t matter how long he had been in the workforce; to move up the ladder, what mattered was the educational credential.

Around the same time, Joey also had an exciting life change that further motivated him to head back to school: Joey, and his wife Denise, welcomed a beautiful baby boy. Joey, now as a father, had an even stronger inspiration for earning his next degree. He wanted to show his son that no amount of excuses should stop you from following your dreams.

That’s when Joey decided to go back to school.

Joey Juarez enrolled at Peirce College in the Integrated Leadership program (now called Organizational Leadership). This program was designed for students like Joey who are looking to advance in their career while maximizing their previous credits and experience.

Joey explained, “The great thing about Peirce College is their dedication to finding every credit possible to transfer into your degree. I got to finish my degree sooner from all my associate degree credits and military experience.”

Beyond the ability to transfer in the maximum number of credits, Integrated Leadership also was aligned with Joey’s work experience and career goals. “I was already doing this type of work out in the field. Integrated Leadership combined skills for the role I wanted to be doing and what I was already doing. I had the experience, I just needed the credential,” said Joey.

Joey earned his Bachelor of Science in Integrated Leadership in June 2017, finally fulfilling his personal and professional goals while also being able to show his son how hard work can pay off.

Joey gives a lot of credit to Peirce for his success saying, “Peirce makes it easy. Any question or issue you think you may have, Peirce will help you through it. The College is made for adults with its accelerated programs and flexibility. Before you know it, you blink and you’re done.”

In conjunction with his new degree and work history, Joey recently landed a rewarding position. Joey now works in business development for Susteen, Inc. as a developer of digital forensic tools.

As Joey takes pride in all he has achieved up until this point, he still has future plans to return to Peirce for his master’s degree in the near future.