By Scott Jackson
Mia Darnell (’25) returned to school with a full schedule—balancing work, parenting, and community involvement—and found the structure and support she needed through WSU Global Campus. She says the program offered a path that fit her life and goals to support financial literacy in her community.
“I work full-time, I have a 9-year-old child, and I’m also active in my community. The flexibility of the Global Campus makes things a lot more doable,” she says. “There are deadlines, but going to school online allowed me to work in the morning and do my schoolwork in the evening.”
This past spring, Darnell graduated with dual degrees in accounting and English. Her academic experience reflects a commitment to skill building and public service, supported by a program that meets students where they are.
Global Campus creates access
As her oldest son prepared to enroll at WSU, Darnell learned of the Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance program through the US Department of Veteran Affairs. Encouraged by the opportunity it created for her family, she decided to return to school herself. She and her son are able to access the benefit thanks to her husband’s prior service in the US Navy.
“One thing that really attracted me to WSU was how strong the veteran’s program is,” she says. “My son and I would not have been able to afford college without incurring debt if not for this program.”
Darnell says her volunteer work—particularly with Communities in Schools—shaped her passion for financial literacy and helped inspire her focus on accounting. Each year, she helps coordinate school supply drives and support programs for teachers and students, building strong ties with her local community.
For nontraditional students like Darnell, the Global Campus structure makes higher education realistic. She says the accelerated course schedule helped her save time and money, while the accessibility of the program, including asynchronous lectures and responsive instructors, ensured she could keep pace. She points to reimbursement programs covering necessities like groceries, internet, and mental health care as a particularly powerful way the Global Campus helps students manage life beyond the classroom— resources she accessed herself.
Engagement opens new possibilities
Darnell first chose accounting for its practical applicability and potential to support her community involvement, but she quickly discovered that strong communication was essential. Her decision to pursue a second degree in English emerged from a love of writing. She says her English coursework was deeply relevant to her business studies.
“When you’re in business, you write proposals, standard operating procedures, grants—it actually does go hand-in-hand,” she says.
Darnell became increasingly involved in student leadership through the Global Campus’s student government (ASWSU Global), beginning as director of communications before serving as vice president. She also took advantage of certification programs offered by the Global Campus, including the Cougar Leadership program and EmpowerALL.
“ASWSU Global widened my horizons—as a Global Campus student, you can feel isolated, like you’re just on your computer, but being involved in student government really opened up a whole new WSU system for me,” she says. “The leadership skills that you get to learn—the soft skills and hard skills—are very important. Even just learning to use Outlook to schedule a meeting was valuable.”
Darnell now serves as a program coordinator for Global Campus Connections, a role she landed after building relationships with staff through her student government work. In this role, she helps foster engagement and support for Global Campus students across the WSU system.
“I think I add value because I’m like a guinea pig—other Global Campus students can ask for my perspective as a student,” she says. “I love what I’m doing with Global Campus so much because of the way that the job is set up; it’s remote, there’s flexibility, and it allows me to continue to do outreach.”
Planning to help others
With graduation behind her, Darnell is focused on what’s next. She plans to pursue a certified public accountant credential and hopes to eventually work with her local school district to provide financial literacy programming for students.
“My ultimate goal is to work with the school district and then maybe, at the same time, provide tax advising services, especially to the elderly,” she says. “I made a career out of volunteering, and so right now, that’s my frame of mind. Accounting is a great way to help people.”
Looking ahead, Darnell says she hopes to continue making a difference through both her professional work and volunteer efforts. As she considers the next step in her career, including roles in accounting firms, government agencies, or even opening her own financial consulting service, she says her priority is maintaining the balance that allows her to serve her community.
