After running her own successful business for 10 years, Stacy Bryan was tired of having to hire a lawyer to handle problems she knew she could tackle herself with some education. She turned to Penn State's online bachelor's degree in law and society to give her the legal instruction she needed. "I found that legal issues always came up in my business, and that was how I first became interested in studying law," she says.

Stacy became the first Penn State online student in her program to complete a for-credit internship. She worked with her business attorney, accompanying him to hearings, taking witness depositions, and researching cases. "I'm the type of person who needs to see things firsthand, so the internship has been a really great experience. I got to watch my attorney argue cases before the Idaho Supreme Court," she says. "I tell people I'm going to Penn State online and I'm amazed at the positive responses I get — from opposing counsel, clients, and other professionals."

While running the business with her husband and raising their two children, Stacy still got to know her online classmates and faculty. "I met my Integrative Arts professor when he and his family were vacationing in this part of the country!" she says. "I've found that the professors are really accessible and I'm able to form personal relationships with them."

Stacy would love to go to law school one day, but knows that even if she doesn't, her Penn State online degree will be well worth the investment. "I used to be pretty much what I would call a ski bum, going from one place to another without any direction," she says. "But now I run my own business and, thanks to Penn State, I'm ready for law school if I go down that path."