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Local Student Overcomes Cancer, Obstacles of COVID-19 to Earn Doctorate

Local Student Overcomes Cancer, Obstacles of COVID-19 to Earn Doctorate

Above Photo: Rachel Krueger crosses the stage to receive her doctorate at the May 2021 commencement.

Rachel Krueger has worked in education for more than 13 years in admissions and other roles. She is the program mentor for Western Governors University, an online competency-based institution. Her passion is to work directly with students, primarily with adult learners.

“I’m able to connect with students and help them create a path to graduation,” she said. “We brainstorm how to overcome the challenges of work, school and family life.”

Rachel Krueger and her husband.

As a May graduate of University of Wisconsin-Stout’s Doctor of Education in career and technical education leadership, Krueger is an adult learner herself and can relate to the students she mentors.

But in her dream of achieving her doctorate, life got busy with work and family life. Then she was diagnosed with brain cancer. She was treated after she was accepted into the Ed.D. CTEL program and started school in fall 2017, two months after undergoing brain surgery.

“This diagnosis and treatment prompted a sense of urgency to re-evaluate my life goals,” said Krueger, of Onalaska, who now is cancer-free. “I realized that my life felt like a book with the last few chapters missing.”

Krueger chose UW-Stout’s CTEL program because of its flexible blend of hybrid courses, built with adult learners in mind. As a mom of two young children, she needed a school that supported her academic and career goals, as well as her family and work commitments. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE OF HER STORY.

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