Faces of Global: Amanda Boothroyd

“When I was 13, I was diagnosed with a tumor on my salivary gland,” Boothroyd shared. “When I had surgery to have it removed, the liquid spilled inside, so I’ve had several surgeries throughout my life. I had to travel a lot of the time to receive care. College was never something I thought I would be able to do; my health was more important at the time, so that’s what I had to focus on.”

After high school, Boothroyd knew she wanted to work in healthcare to help people. She got her CNA certification at a local community college, however, over time, the job began to wear on her. “My own experience helped me to really connect with the people I served, but I had to prepare many of them for the end of their life and as I started to lose patients, it became too much; I started bringing work home with me,” Boothroyd explained. “I was also a traveling CNA at the time, so I was destroying my car by putting lots of miles on it. I knew something had to change.”

Boothroyd’s best friend convinced her to take a desk job at the company she worked for. About six months into working at the company, Boothyroyd was invited to a corporate company meeting in Texas. She booked her very first flight there and took part in various meetings, including a Women’s Leadership panel. “The women who spoke all had different stories to share; one of them had a story like mine and she had battled health issues throughout her life,” Boothroyd stated. “After being inspired by these womens’ stories, I decided right then and there that I wanted more and I wanted to grow. I wanted to impact peoples’ lives the way these women had impacted me.” Two weeks later, Boothroyd enrolled as a student in the Organizational Leadership program at CSU Global.

Balancing going back to school, working full-time, traveling for healthcare, being a mom, and traveling for work, proved to be challenging for Boothroyd, but she was up to the task because of CSU Global. “I’ll be honest, if I wasn’t able to be an online student with CSU Global, college wouldn’t be a possibility for me,” Boothroyd shared. “The flexibility of an online schedule is crucial for me.”

Once her classes began, Boothroyd’s confidence grew as a result of support she received from her instructors. “When I first enrolled at CSU Global, I signed up for a math class and I was so scared,” Boothroyd commented.”I’ll be honest, I never had good grades in high school. But the support here has been amazing! It’s like CSU Global had students like me in mind, people with full-time jobs, parents, people who have been out of school for a long time, etc., and they designed a program to make sure we succeed.”

Although some people may say that college is not worth it, Boothroyd emphasized her education has been valuable. “People tell you all the time, ‘Don’t go to college, you don’t need it, it’s so expensive and a waste of time,’ but I tell them my experience has been the opposite!” Boothroyd shared. “I have learned and evolved so much since going back to school. I have learned things that I’ve been able to apply in the workplace, in my relationships, and I’ve just learned so many things that help me in my daily life.”

A resident of Des Moines, Iowa, Boothroyd mentioned how it has been fulfilling to take classes with students from all over the globe. “A student in my United States history class was from another country – it was so fascinating to hear her perspectives and learn about her culture along the way,” she said. “It was neat to see how truly global the community is.”

What’s on the horizon for Boothroyd? She is set to graduate from CSU Global with her bachelors degree in Organizational Leadership in early 2027. She plans to take advantage of Sophia (CSU Global’s online course partner) to graduate even earlier.

She is excited to keep learning, evolving and growing. “If you’re not willing to change, then you’re not willing to grow,” she shared. “Those two things go hand in hand.”

We love hearing from our students and learning more about their personal CSU Global experiences. We hope they inspire you as much as they inspire us!