Life After Graduating From an Online Program
Here at Ohio State, our biggest advocates are our students and alumni. There is so much pride in being a Buckeye. If you’re not familiar, you may be asking yourself – “Why become a Buckeye”? We sat down with Larry Martin. He is a major advocate for Ohio State’s online Master of Clinical Research (MCR) for the various opportunities that MCR has brought into his life.
Get to know Larry:
What were your goals going into the program?
Back in November 2003, I was selected to be an imaging project leader for a multi-site, 10-year Osteoarthritis Initiative longitudinal research project, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) I spent a lot of time in the role and I found myself wanting to learn more about research and program management. After about 1-2 years of looking into different programs, I decided to apply to the Master of Clinical Research program. I knew going into the program that I wanted to advance my career forward. I was hoping the additional education would qualify me for some promising opportunities within my department that I wanted to pursue.
What was your favorite part of the program?
My favorite about the program is that I have made lasting relationships. Once a month, I still meet with two of my former classmates, Lisa and Isabelle to discuss processes improvements within our respective work areas and the research that we are conducting. We each have different backgrounds within the research industry. I value this time because it gives us a chance to bounce ideas off of one another and provide support for each other. I reached out to Lisa and Isabel randomly during an online class group discussion, to see if they were interested in studying together for biostatistics. To this day, we still joke about how Isabel only brought her cellphone calculator to our study sessions. While Lisa and I would always bring stacks of textbooks and a scientific TI-84 calculator. It's nostalgic for me to think back on these times and see how we have all grown from the program.
What was your least favorite part?
My least favorite part was that I had to make a lot of sacrifices along the way to go back to school. The first six months in the program were rough – I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to keep up. Once I got into the swing of things it got a lot easier. I remember there were some days when I would stay up all night getting my homework and assignments done. There were even weekends where I had to isolate myself at home to get assignments done by 11:59pm. But hey – it was worth it in the end. I gained a large network of support from my family, friends and peers.
Did you achieve the goals that you set for yourself?
Yes! I achieved and exceeded them with the help of the MCR program. Before the program, I was one of the Lead Imaging Technologists in the Radiology Department at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Now, I am the Interim MRI Educational Program Director. I also manage student interns and various projects across the whole department. I find myself encouraging a lot of my interns to apply. With the MCR degree, the opportunities are endless. I've gained so much, thanks to the MCR program. I am one of the biggest advocates for the program and online learning in general.
Martin graduated in December 2016. He still keeps in contact with the majority of his cohort and faculty members from the program. Martin also mentioned that two of his colleagues even grade papers for the MCR program now. To find out more about the Master of Clinical Research Program, visit online.osu.edu/macpr.