‘Life is too short for a boring career’ 

At 50, fun-loving Patti Bertolino says Purdue Global redeemed her opportunity to earn the master’s degree she always wanted.

Patti Bertolino (MS instructional design ’24, Purdue Global) is never boring. She really hates boring. 

Her favorite leisure activities are all excitement — she likes to ski. She scuba dives. She travels. So when it comes to her career, why shouldn’t that be exciting, too? 

In particular, she’s passionate about making learning fun, so designing the instruction for corporate training sessions was a perfect fit. But as she neared 50 and a post-COVID-19 world started to see cutbacks and layoffs in the corporate sector, she wanted stability. 

As much as Bertolino lives for excitement, wondering whether she’d be able to continue on her path if layoffs came around was not what she had in mind. She knew that gaining an edge over the competition would have to involve earning a master’s degree. 

“A master’s gives me authority as a subject matter expert,” she says. “It’s a well-respected credential that will help me stand out if I’m ever in the position of searching for a new job.” 

Freshly graduated from Purdue Global, she reflects on how her online master’s changed everything.

Making learning fun as an instructional designer 

It was during a staff training session when she was new to corporate America that her mind started to wander. She fantasized about how she’d make the session fun. How could it be interactive? How would she get people excited about the information? 

Her career was born in that moment. 

“I realized I wanted to be the person in front of the room,” she says. “I’m eager to learn, but I’m also eager not to be bored! So I became a trainer for a national financial services corporation. It was a very high-traffic training situation because mortgage rates would go down — we’d hire 500 people. A new law would get passed — we’d hire 400 more.” 

Before she knew it, she was teaching thousands at a time at a well-respected corporation, learning everything she could from YouTube and reading books. She was making escape rooms. She was modeling trainings after “The Amazing Race.” In every way, Bertolino was killing it. 

As she continued down this path, the next step seemed to be an advanced degree. Her company was covering tuition for employees, and Bertolino says it couldn’t have been a more accessible setup. 

“We had tuition reimbursement. They literally came to our building and taught classes. It was almost a no-brainer,” she says. 

It was so reachable, in fact, that it was easy to take the opportunity for granted. She’d do it someday. 

But time ran out. 

The professors really let me be me on the discussion boards. … I was one of the few who already works in corporate. They allowed me to share (my experience) with my peers in class.

Patti Bertolino
MS instructional design technology ’24, Purdue Global 

A missed opportunity 

In 2018 the company Bertolino had worked at for 20 years was bought. Employees who designed curriculum were among the first to be laid off. On top of the upheaval and emotional devastation, there was regret over the degree she never got. 

“It would have been so easy. It was right there!” she says. 

Finding another job wasn’t easy, but eventually she began doing what she loved again at another prominent financial institution. Unfortunately, four years later, in a post-COVID-19 economy, that company had to shutter its doors, and she was in the job market once again. 

She was rattled. With layoffs becoming more and more common, she had to do something to secure her place in the field she loved. And she couldn’t help but remember that she’d once had the chance to make herself stand out. 

But rather than wallow in that mistake, Bertolino vowed not to make it again. 

“It really shook me,” she says. “When I was hired at Prudential, I thought, ‘This time, I’m getting a master’s degree.’ I wasn’t going to let an opportunity like that slip away again.” 

An online education to stabilize the future 

“I picked Purdue Global because companies are moving into a more global, work-at-home scenario. There were local options, but everybody’s heard of Purdue,” she says. 

Bertolino found that her classes didn’t just teach her what works in her job — she already had a strong knowledge base from her 20 years of experience — but she learned why her techniques worked. 

“I got to learn the theory behind many of the practices I’ve been using for years, and it gives me credibility,” she says.  

During her experience as a Purdue Global student, she also felt respected for the wisdom she’d already earned in the field. 

“The professors really let me be me on the discussion boards,” she says. “A lot of the people in my class were teachers who wanted to move to a corporate model because of COVID. I was one of the few who already works in corporate. They allowed me to share ways I engage my audience with my peers in class.” 

And now that she has her degree in hand, she hopes when others hear her story, they’ll know their limitations might not be as limiting as they think.  

“I want to inspire others because sometimes people think they can’t go back because they have a baby, or they’re not in their twenties anymore, or they work full time. I tell them, ‘No, you can! I’m 50!’” she says. “It’s never too late to learn.”

Companies are moving into a more global, work-at-home scenario. There were local options, but everybody’s heard of Purdue.

 
Patti Bertolino MS instructional design technology ’24, Purdue Global