Itasca mom balances career, family by heading online

Valerie Hogan always accomplishes her major life goals. It's just that she usually skips the traditional route to reach them.

When the Itasca woman, 37, and her husband, Mark, chose to start a family six years ago, nurseries and baby showers didn't beckon to them.

Instead, the couple felt called to serve as foster parents and adopt three boys, Edmond, Edward and Albert, who were ages 6, 7 and 8 respectively when they arrived. Hogan said she knew this would be her path after being raised with two adopted brothers and a biological brother.

"This is just a part of our family's life since growing up," she said. "My husband and I decided this was right for us and we wanted to adopt older children, since the need is really greater there."

When she became a mother, Hogan left her job as a quality assurance specialist at a manufacturing company so she could devote all her time to her growing family and help her young sons get accustomed to the permanence of their household.

After a year of helping her family "mesh," as she says, Hogan knew she would need to re-enter the work force with up-to-date skills. After all, she said, her sons would be off to college a lot sooner than the children of most new parents.

Still, she wasn't ready to leave the boys and devote hours each day to commuting and sitting in a classroom.

So, once again, Hogan needed to get creative.

In class, at home

Thanks to some research, Hogan discovered Kaplan University's Concord Law School, the country's first law school based completely online. The four-year program was longer than a traditional three-year law school, but she said the trade-off was worth it for the sake of her boys.

"This seemed like it would give me the flexibility to focus on family and pursue my degree," Hogan said. "It really gave me a lot of options."

Still, it's law school - not exactly a cakewalk. And Hogan learned her schedule had to be perfectly timed for her plan to succeed.

"I would tell people I work the split shift: 6 to 8 a.m. and 3 to 10 p.m. with my husband and sons, where we'd do homework and family time," she said. "And as soon as they left in the morning, I really had to treat that time from 8 to 3 as my work days."

And while Hogan worked around her family, her sons and husband realized they needed to take care of her, too.

So they finished extra chores when she was in class at the computer. And they cheered her on to finish long papers and grueling tests.

The virtual classroom environment demanded discipline and creativity, too. Without working face-to-face with live classmates and teachers, Hogan got involved with online groups in her law school that she said created healthy competition and motivated her to keep going.

Greg Brandes, dean of faculty and a professor at Concord, said stories like Hogan's are becoming more and more common as people embrace online learning.

"There are certainly people who like the vibrancy and the distractions of campus, but for people who want to move on to more important parts of their lives ... this also offers a rich and vibrant environment," Brandes said. "Some people underestimate all the social events, clubs, bar association and study groups (at Web-based schools). And in this day and age, they thrive because people are so comfortable with being online."

'Taking a breather'

Once Hogan got into the groove of juggling classes and family, another realization dawned on her. With her mind in academic-mode, Hogan wanted to become more involved with her sons' schools.

She jokes that she's no good at cooking for bake sale fundraisers so, again, she found a different way to give back and ran for a seat on the Itasca Elementary District 10 school board.

Soon Edward, Albert and Edmond found themselves cheering for their mom once more, posting election signs in supporters' yards and tabulating votes on election night. Hogan won and is now serving her first term as school board vice president.

But this winter, she scored another triumph when she passed the federal bar exam for patent law. It was the second major exam she passed, having also passed the California Bar Exam last fall, since Concord Law School is based in California.

Today, Hogan said her family is relieved school is done and they can "take a breather" before she amps up her job search.

She also plans to use her law degree to volunteer with groups like Court Appointed Special Advocates of DuPage County, or CASA. The organization recruits volunteer citizen advocates to speak to the best interests of abused, neglected and dependent children in DuPage County's juvenile and family court system.

And at home, the Hogans kept their foster license open so they can care for children who need temporary, emergency placement, which they did last summer for a child.

But before she tackles the next items on her life's to-do list, Hogan will put off the courtroom and devote a bit more time to being a full-time mom to Edward and Albert, now both 14, and Edmond, now 13, cheering them on at football games, basketball games and wrestling matches.

"This has all just been a wonderful experience and it couldn't have worked out more perfectly," Hogan said.