From Struggle to Success: The Lincoln University Employment Academy Empowers Nontraditional Students in Inaugural Semester

Launched in spring 2025, the Lincoln University Employment Academy (LUEA) provides Missouri residents with essential career skills and a direct path to employment.

Juggling single parenting, full-time jobs and financial stress can make the goal of higher education and a stable career feel out of reach. But for students seeking a flexible, affordable and career-focused educational path, Lincoln University’s Employment Academy is already making a difference in their lives during its inaugural semester. 

Designed for nontraditional students, the two-semester program combines online coursework with real-world internships to help participants secure meaningful employment — empowering them to improve their lives and support their families while meeting Missouri’s critical workforce needs.

“Lincoln has heard the voices in the community and designed a program that not only meets the students where they are — mentally, physically and financially — but is addressing the needs of mid-Missouri by closing the employment gap,” LUEA Director Blaire Hines says. “The Employment Academy is presenting an alternative to the traditional four-year degree for nontraditional students in Missouri.”

The Lincoln University Employment Academy launched in mid-March with nine students in the inaugural cohort. The two-semester certificate program combines college-credit introductory coursework with job-specific internships in various fields. Students begin the program with a semester of academic courses taught online in two eight-week sessions, starting with general courses in business, psychology and communication.

LUEA's first students will conclude their inaugural semester with an eight-week summer session, which began on May 27, taking classes that align with their chosen workforce pathway. This summer’s offerings for the current cohort include courses in math, health and wellness, computer programming, coding and accounting.

Eligible students will get to apply their classroom lessons in the fall semester when they begin internships with various state agencies as a new cohort begins its first semester, says Hines. “This is a year-round program,” she says. “The goal is to have multiple sessions going at once.”

Hines is encouraged by the performance of the academy’s first students, and she is working on securing partnerships with companies to provide internships that this cohort will begin in the fall term this August. LUEA students who do not qualify for an internship on their first try may continue with additional coursework. 

Upon completion of the internship semester, LUEA graduates receive a certificate, which offers several pathways. Post-graduate options include potential offers of full-time employment where they interned, based upon a final assessment and continuing availability of the position. Others may opt to enroll in additional courses and pursue a college degree. Still others could leverage their certificates into enhanced opportunities at their current jobs. 

The flexible nature of the hybrid program appeals to current LUEA students like Cori Garrett. “Lincoln’s Employment Academy gives me an opportunity to learn with ease while I work and care for my children,” Garrett says. “The instructors are extremely understanding and supportive. I wouldn’t have completed this term without all of their one-on-one meetings and daily encouragement.”

The program has been a boon to nontraditional students seeking new career opportunities. And with opportunity comes hope, says LUEA student Shiloh Anderson. “The LU Employment Academy is helping me to improve not only my career but mine and my children’s quality of life,” she says.

Growing interest in the program is cause for optimism, Hines says, noting that more than 20 applicants are “getting all of their boxes checked” to begin in the fall. 

That approach has earned a ringing endorsement from Cori Garrett: “I recommend this program for any mom or adult who is looking for a fresh start in the professional workforce.”

Organizations interested in supporting LUEA by offering internships to students should contact Hines at 573-681-5088 or via email, HinesB@LincolnU.edu. Interested students can apply online at LincolnU.edu.