Mary Gianfrancesco needed a way to pursue her professional goals while maintaining the demands she had at home and with her family’s new business.

An online degree from Saint Leo University not only got her there, but helped her to excel as she climbed the ladder to success at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

“It’s been regular, consistent promotion ever since,” she said. “I’m not the CFO, but I have experienced consistent advancement,” becoming the person her boss calls on to train others in good accounting and financial practices.

Gianfrancesco started out at the sheriff’s office as a specialist trainee in the Quality Assurance Unit.

“I was 47 years old, and my two sons were 17 and 20 and still living at home, and my husband and I had just started a business,” she said. “My sons worked for us, and I needed to find a job that had career potential that would provide benefits for our family, including health insurance and retirement.”

While her time in the Records Division was valuable, she realized her long-term professional aspirations would take her down a different path within the agency. “I wanted to find a position where I could quickly learn, but with growth potential,” she said. “I wanted this last position to be with a company that I could stay with all the way to retirement.”

Gianfrancesco researched returning to school, then decided on Saint Leo University’s online program. “My home is an hour’s drive each way to Saint Leo, and with working full time and running a business and household, I could not attend classes in person. Saint Leo’s program allowed me to attend all my classes online, never once having to step foot on campus.”

“Being able to get that degree and not just the degree, but to graduate magna cum laude; it was hard; it was challenging,” Gianfrancesco said. “For me, online courses don’t allow you the privilege of listening to an instructor or give you real life experience [in person]. But the way Saint Leo sets up its virtual courses allows people to interact [with each other and the professor].

“I was able to get in some groups with people on the same path and do some networking with them and study groups that really benefitted me in my educational goals,” she added.  “But also, there was a networking aspect — talking to others.”

Gianfrancesco, now 55 and a Valrico, FL, resident, spent three years working on her accounting degree, accelerating her career along the way. She recently joined the sheriff’s office Workday Finance Team, where she trains her team members.

“I never thought I would get the degree my father wanted so badly for me,” she said. “I thank God every day that I was blessed to find this program, and I pray Saint Leo will continue to offer this option to others like me.”