New Orleans Testimonials

Rachel Carey, 29, was born and raised in New Orleans. In 2005, when Hurricane Katrina struck her home city and the surrounding Gulf Coast, it shook up Carey’s world.

Carey is the middle child of 11. Carey’s mother is a stay-at-home mom and her father is a retired office manager with the state of Louisiana.

Rachel Carey enjoyed her high school years, and graduated in 1999.

Yet, after high school, Carey felt she had no direction. After a 2-1/2 month stint in the Army, she was honorably discharged in 2000. She returned home and soon after was pregnant. She found a job working at a hospital as an administrative coordinator -- all the while thinking she needed to get a higher education to set a good example for her daughter.

Carey began her journey at Herzing University in May of 2004, and received her Associate's in Business Administration in December 2007. A year later, she received a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in Business Management in 2008.

And last April, Carey received a Master's in Business from Herzing University Online. She says that her initial experience at Herzing in 2004 was such a “beautiful experience” that she “couldn't just stop at one” degree.

Although Carey’s journey was accompanied by many obstacles it did not hinder her determination. Carey has been a single mother for almost 10 years and raising her daughter has had its challenges. She was performing successfully in her educational studies at Herzing when Hurricane Katrina hit. Like thousands of other New Orleans residents, Carey and her child faced a massive calamity.

In her case, the apartment where she lived was flooded. Carey and her daughter had to move out, leaving all her possessions behind. She was forced to relocate to Michigan and stayed there for 11 months; after returning home, she lived with her parents, whose house had been restored, for nine months. Finally, she was able to move back into an apartment of her own. But that displacement and loss created major stress in Carey’s life.

Still, with the help of her family members and her classmates and instructors at Herzing, she pulled through.

Herzing's convenient class schedule, course workload and instructor assistance played a major role in her completion of all three degree programs. Many courses encouraged personal development -- which strengthened Carey in a personal way, making her more confident in her ability to achieve greater things.

She considers herself now to be an effective communicator and savvy risk-taker.

“If I could do the entire experience all over again, I would. My decision to attend Herzing has greatly impacted my life, not just academically. I met several great instructors, staff members, and students who were my second family and made the entire journey all worthwhile,” Carey said.

Currently, Carey works as a developmental assistant at Loyola University. And in the future, given the challenges she has surmounted, Carey hopes to get a job where she feels she can really help people overcome challenges in their lives, too.

– Rachel Carey

My name is Debra Buchanan and I am studying medical billing and insurance coding.

I chose to attend Herzing University because of the small classrooms. Not having that many students in one class makes it easier for a teacher to pay more attention to a student or individual when they need a little bit more help learning something. And it helps out a lot.

What I like best about my experience at Herzing University so far is the willingness of the facility to assist you as a student from the first day of showing interest of attending Herzing University, through orientation, into the class. You are treated as a professional person and not just someone who walked in off the street.

– Debra Buchanan

My name’s Larry Singleton, I obtained a bachelor’s in business administration and I’m currently Herzing’s Business Development Coordinator.

I chose Herzing because Herzing University has small class sizes and the instructors were extremely thorough and they really placed a lot of emphasis on students as individuals, which was probably the determining factor in why I attended Herzing.

I chose my bachelor’s in business administration because the business arena is an ever-changing one and I felt that the staff here at Herzing could equip me with the necessary tools to be a force to be reckoned with in the business world.

I had a friend who attended Herzing and he would always talk about how fulfilling it was, how he enjoys his work, how pleasant the staff was, how helpful the staff was, and I definitely agree one hundred percent. And I would recommend it to anybody. And if I had it to do all over I would definitely do it again at Herzing.

– Larry Singleton

My name is Sindy Chavarria and I am enrolled in the surgical technologist program.

I have a full time job and I chose Herzing University because they have night classes available.

I am enrolled in the surgical technology program and I chose that field because I’ve always been interested in a career in the healthcare profession and the employment outlook for surgical technologist is really high right now and not to mention I enjoy working in an operating room. It’s very interesting to me.

What I like most about Herzing University was that the admissions and registration process went really smooth and the financial advisors were really helpful to me. And also the classes. They’re small which creates a better learning environment and it gives you more one on one attention with the professor.

– Sindy Chavarria