I've been a development officer for the past 17 years, and I'm currently the Corporate Director of Resource Development for Planned Parenthood of the Rochester/Syracuse Region. My degree has served me well. First, it's given me the credential to work in higher education and in high level management positions. More importantly, I benefit nearly every day from something I learned in the program, particularly the organizational communication class with Sandra Herndon and the instructional design class with Diane Gayeski. I can better "diagnose and treat" performance issues in my own staff, and I can act as an internal consultant as a member of the strategic leadership team. I can't tell you how many times I have quoted Diane Gayeski, "Having a performance problem doesn't mean you need training!" I'm deeply grateful to Ithaca College and the extraordinary faculty in the Master’s program for helping me build a successful and fulfilling career.