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Editor's Note: Going Back to School

Working@Duke's editor uses unique Duke benefit to begin graduate program at Duke

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Leanora Minai at graduation day at Texas Christian University.

As a Duke employee, Bernadette Gillis visited Perkins Library to attend work meetings, but she didn’t have a chance to browse the library collections.

That changed when she joined Duke’s Graduate Liberal Studies master’s degree program while working as a senior public relations specialist.

“Most times I would go to find a quiet spot to do my reading for the week,” said Bernadette, who received a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies in 2014. “Other times, I went to get books that I found while doing research for a paper for class. I was always amazed at how I could find just about anything I needed at Duke.”

 Bernadette used Duke’s Employee Tuition Assistance benefit to defray the annual cost to advance her education over five years.

“It was a tremendous help,” said Bernadette, 37. “When I graduated, I didn’t have any debt. It ends up being a good deal.”

In return, Bernadette honed skills that she applies in her role at Duke: critical thinking, writing, research and interviewing. “It definitely made me a little more confident and curious,” she added.

Eligible Duke employees are reimbursed up to $5,250 annually for tuition at Duke or other higher educational institutions in North Carolina that are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In 2014-15, Duke reimbursed 807 university and health system employees $2.6 million in tuition costs.

I’m excited to share that in the New Year, I’ll be joining the employees who are putting Duke’s generous tuition reimbursement to good use. I’m going back to school to begin Duke’s Graduate Liberal Studies master’s degree program. Like Bernadette, I’ll work full-time and plug away at classes toward a broadly focused interdisciplinary degree that I think will change my life.

I’m a bit nervous. It’s been 25 years since I received my undergraduate degree, and these master’s classes are at night when I’m usually in my PJs after work. And they are Duke classes taught by Duke professors.

But it’s time for a new challenge. Learning never ends.