Canyon resident takes online classes from UHV to obtain master’s degree
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| Jeff Reid |
University of Houston-Victoria graduate student Jeff Reid had plenty of motivation to return to school after almost 30 years to get his master’s degree.
“My wife and two boys have their master’s degrees,” he said. “I was the odd man out. When I got my bachelor’s degree, all I wanted was to get out as quick as I could and start working, but this is a personal goal that also will benefit me down the road.”
Through a chance encounter in Colorado, the Canyon resident found the perfect program at UHV. Reid was working for the West Texas Small Business Development Center when he attended a conference in Denver and met David Summers, an associate professor in the UHV School of Business Administration.
“The company I was working for was all about helping entrepreneurs,” Reid said. “Dr. Summers told me about the Economic Development & Entrepreneurship graduate program. It was a natural fit for what I was already doing professionally, and all the classes are online so I could get my master’s from UHV while living in Canyon.”
Reid said it was challenging to re-acquire good study habits since he had been out of college for so long, but the online format of his UHV program is so convenient that he is enjoying the experience and gaining valuable skills he can use with his current company. Reid is the associate director of the WT Enterprise Center in Amarillo, a nonacademic department of the West Texas A&M University School of Business.
“The Enterprise Center is what’s known as a business incubator,” Reid said. “We bring fledgling businesses under our wing, nurture them and help them to grow until they no longer need our services.In the Economic Development & Entrepreneurship program, we learn how to create business plans, find resources, create jobs and increase revenue in the local economy. I learn information all the time that I can use the very next day with my clients.”
Reid also is on the board of the Texas Panhandle Regional Development Corp., a nonprofit organization that administers loan programs to assist businesses. He is a past president and current board member of Camp Blue Haven, a Christian youth camp in Las Vegas, N.M.
The UHV Outstanding Student is an online feature highlighting the exceptional students who attend the University of Houston-Victoria. To nominate a student, contact UHV Communications Manager Paula Cobler or call 361-570-4350.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
