From military to master’s: MTSU Adult Degree Completion student proves it’s never too late

By Dustin Stout

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Stan Laws had planned to spend his retirement on the golf course. Instead, he found himself rarely stepping foot onto the fairway — feeling unfulfilled and staring at job postings, each one ending with the same line he couldn’t ignore: “Bachelor’s degree required.”

At 46, he had more than 25 years of military leadership under his belt, but not the credentials that could unlock the door to what was next. And on the back nine of life, Laws realized golf alone wasn’t bringing meaning or momentum to his next round.

Stan Laws

That’s when he made the turn to Middle Tennessee State University.

Now, one year later, Laws is finishing his bachelor’s degree in integrated studies through University College’s Adult Degree Completion Program. He will graduate in December with two consecutive 4.0 GPA semesters so far, an internship in MTSU’s True Blue Fusion Project Management Office and acceptance into the Master of Science in Project Management graduate program.

“Finishing my degree at MTSU means a wealth of opportunities I never knew existed,” he said.

This week, MTSU, along with universities across the country, is marking National Nontraditional Student Week, led by the Association for Nontraditional Students in Higher Education, to recognize students like Laws who have returned to the classroom while balancing careers, families, military service, and more.

‘I needed the degree’

Laws, now a grandfather of two, said he first attended college in 1995. He earned his associate degree but said he struggled academically and was unsure of his next step. Not long after, he enlisted in the Tennessee Army National Guard. What started as a short-term decision turned into a 25-year military career, including deployments and active-duty service.

When he recently retired from the National Guard, he thought his biggest decisions would involve nine-irons and tee times. But rest soon turned to restlessness. After traveling the world with his family and working in the golf industry for a short time, he applied for a civilian defense position for which he was highly qualified—but he didn’t get the job.

“That’s when I realized … if I wanted to do something else other than play golf, I needed the degree,” Laws said.

Middle Tennessee State University nontraditional student Stan Laws, right, will graduate in December with his bachelor’s degree after returning to college after retiring from the Tennessee National Guard. In this photo, he holds his young granddaughter, Navy, with his son, Conner, left, and grandson, Nolan. (Submitted photo)

Always one of his biggest champions, Jen, Stan’s wife and an alumna of MTSU, pointed him in the direction of University College and its strong reputation for providing the proper environment that helps nontraditional students like Laws more easily return to the classroom to earn their degrees.

For Laws and every nontraditional student in the college’s Adult Degree Completion Program, what makes finishing a degree possible is personalized support, course flexibility and a guaranteed pathway to a degree.

Middle Tennessee State University nontraditional student Stan Laws is shown in this undated photo with his wife, Jen, ahead of a deployment to Ukraine. Laws served 25 years with the Tennessee National Guard before retiring and beginning his bachelor’s degree at the Murfreesboro, Tenn., university. (Submitted photo)

With an unused GI Bill in his back pocket, Laws tailored the Integrated Studies major to fit his goals, allowing him to finish faster. Through the Prior Learning Assessment process, he applied his earlier college credits and years of military training toward his degree. In the end, only 30 credit hours, or two semesters, stood between Laws and graduation.

“If University College and the Adult Degree Completion Program didn’t exist, I don’t know that I would’ve even tried,” he said.

Returning to the classroom immediately felt different this time, not because the coursework had changed, but because he had. The discipline that defined Laws’ military service now guided his education.

“The biggest takeaway was realizing I wasn’t the poor student I was 30 years ago,” he said. “I could do the work. I just needed the opportunity.”

That opportunity, and the momentum that followed, came faster than he expected.

‘Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’

After proving to himself that he could succeed academically — and finding encouragement from professors like Richard Tarpey, who said Laws’ “dedication and determination exemplify the strength and perseverance of nontraditional students”— he applied to MTSU’s Lightning Track to attend graduate school and was accepted into the Master of Science in Project Management program.

Middle Tennessee State University nontraditional student Stan Laws is pictured here with his wife, Jen, on their wedding day in 2019 at Nashville’s City Winery. Stan Laws will earn his bachelor’s degree in December and has begun work on his master’s at the Murfreesboro, Tenn., campus. (Photo by Laura K. Allen Photography)

Accepting an invitation into the program meant he could begin Graduate Studies coursework while still completing his bachelor’s degree with no application fee or entrance exams required.

“It felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said. “I never thought a master’s program was even possible. Now I’m finishing one degree and starting another.”

Around the same time he was accepted into the master’s program, Laws also applied for an internship with the university’s True Blue Fusion Project Management Office, and this time, he got the job.

The Fusion Project is a multi-year initiative to modernize the university’s systems and processes, touching everything from enrollment to finance to student services. Laws now works alongside project managers and university leaders, analyzing timelines, risks and decisions for one of the largest transformation efforts on campus.

The skills Laws spent decades sharpening in the military — planning, structure, attention to detail and anticipating outcomes — didn’t fade in retirement. At True Blue Fusion, they found purpose again.

‘Just jump in’

Middle Tennessee State University student Stan Laws, who is completing his bachelor’s degree in integrated studies through University College’s Adult Degree Completion Program, and his wife, Jen Laws, an MTSU alumna, pose for a photo while visiting Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, during a family vacation. (Submitted photo)

As December commencement approaches, Laws is already focused on what’s next. He’ll remain part of the True Blue Fusion Project through 2027, working toward his master’s degree and accumulating hours toward Project Management Professional, or PMP, certification.

That’s the kind of student success that National Nontraditional Student Week is meant to recognize — not only of those who return to the classroom later in life, but also of those who prove that education has no age limit.

“Don’t wait. There’s never a perfect time to go back to school; just jump in,” Laws said. “Doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past. You can always write that next chapter.”

MTSU was recently named Tennessee’s first higher-education institution to earn membership in the internationally recognized Age-Friendly University Global Network, further demonstrating the university’s commitment to supporting adult and nontraditional learners.

To learn more about University College’s Adult Degree Completion Program, visit mtsu.edu/finishnow. For more information on Graduate Studies at MTSU, visit mtsu.edu/graduate.

— Dustin Stout (dustin.stout@mtsu.edu)