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Back to School
For many Pace students, learning doesnýt stop once one leaves the classroom for the day; or even, once one acquires their degree. Kevin McGovern ý83, ý21, who earned his bachelorýs in business administration and CPA designation thirty-eight years ago, epitomizes this ethos of persistence and the continual ability to evolve and grow with the timesýwhich in fact, is one of the reasons he decided to return to Pace and pursue a masterýs in cybersecurity.
ýIýve been working with technologists for twenty years now,ý said Kevin. ýI started with Merrill Lynchýs technology team, but Iýve always kind of done things from an accountantýs perspective or a businessmanýs perspective, not from the technology perspective. Now, I want to know more about how the technology actually works, which is why I came back to school.ý
Kevin is one of Paceýs many students that decide to embark on the pursuit of education a second time around. He has had a successful career working with various technology teams across the financial services arena including Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase; yet he believes there is still always more to learn.
ýI want to be able to speak both sides,ý said Kevin.
While the core principles of Paceýand the Setter blue and gold color paletteýremain a familiar and grounding constant for Kevin, returning to his alma mater for his graduate degree has been a drastically different experience. As a student at Paceýs Westchester Campus back in the 1980ýs, Kevinýs undergraduate years had a profound impact on his life. He earned his undergraduate degree, lived on campus as an RA, and even found a circle of people that would become lifelong friends for him and who have remained very close to him today.
ýDo it. Donýt give it a second thought. Do it. You will get a great student experience out of it.ý
ýWhen we get together, it feels like weýve been together forever. It is like we are all back in school again, but thirty-eight years later. We have been at each otherýs weddings, our kids have grown up together, attended our kidýs birthday parties together, shared both weddings and funerals together. Other people look at it and say that it is ýsuch an odd thingý. It is a very good oddity.ý
Today, Kevin is earning his degree by attending classes online, and has learned certain benefits about the new structure of virtual education and how it plays into his busy day-to-day life.
ýCOVID changed the pace of everything we do, on a personal and business side, and that actually helped. Two years ago, it would have been much more difficult for me to balance both worlds.ý
Kevin even discovered that the relationship that he has with his professors online is stronger than what he experienced as an undergraduate. While his experience may be drastically different than 1983ýeight years before the world wide web was introduced to the public (on 8/6/91)! Kevinýs hunger for knowledge allows him to adapt and excel within the futuristic learning format.
One of the reasons he decided to pursue a graduate degree, he says, is due to the speed that the world is changing, and information is ýpouring out.ý Through enrolling in the masterýs program, he has seized upon the opportunities available to him to be more capable in anticipating and adapting to said changes. For example, he is currently collaborating with his professor and his peers on a project concerning quantum computing; a technology which Kevin explains will revolutionize computing itself.
ýSay you have a car that can go seventy miles per hour and take you from New York to Boston in three hours. Now I come up to you and say I have a car now that goes seven hundred miles per hour so that you can get there in 10 minutes, and itýs safer than the other car.ý Thatýs what quantum computing is.ý
All in all, Kevin has found his return to school not only practical, but incredibly rewarding. When asked what he would say to someone considering pursuing an online degree, his answer is unwavering:
ýDo it. Donýt give it a second thought. Do it. You will get a great student experience out of it.ý