黑料传送门

Running toward something better.

From her time as a college-level track and field athlete to the challenges of earning a graduate degree as a wife, mother, and working professional, Connie Washington has always relied on her competitive mindset to defy expectations and achieve success on her own terms.

鈥淢y dad was a runner in high school, and he thought I was pretty quick (for a kid),鈥� recalls Connie Washington, former NCAA track and field athlete and Western Governors University alumna. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how it all started for me, as a little 7- or 8-year-old girl in these little AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) meets around Salt Lake City, Utah.鈥�

In the years that followed, the promising young athlete gained one victory after another.

Soon, Connie鈥檚 weekends were spent on the road with her dad鈥攖raveling to neighboring states in the pursuit of more opportunities to compete. Her confidence and talents grew. Yet, Connie never fully understood her potential for greatness until her freshman year in high school.

鈥淢y very first meet was up at the University of Utah, an invitational, which is a meet that all the high schools in the state go to. I didn鈥檛 have the greatest form, but somehow, some way I won the first invitational I was at in the 200 meters,鈥� Connie says.

鈥淪o, that鈥檚 kind of when I realized that I might be able to compete at a level that many people don鈥檛 get to. I thought, Holy cow, maybe I can do this!鈥�

Connie continued to break records and receive accolades as a high school track star鈥攊ncluding district and state championships. Her efforts would not go unnoticed.

She would receive an athletic scholarship from Weber State, an NCAA Division 1 school in the Big Sky Conference.

The year was 1982. And Connie pushed herself even further. In college, she was now a member of an elite group of athletes鈥攅ach a high school star in their own right鈥攂rought together from different parts of the country to compete as one singularly focused team.

鈥淢y sophomore year, we actually won the first championship 鈥� the first women鈥檚 (conference) championship that (the) Weber State team won. We weren鈥檛 supposed to win that meet. We won the indoor championship. And I had amazingly won the long jump at that meet, won the 400, and we won the 400-meter relay. And so that was pretty exciting. It was nice to get the individual wins, but we were really pleased as a team.鈥�

As her track and field career progressed, Connie garnered her share of 鈥淢ost Valuable Athlete鈥� awards and nominations at a number of intercollegiate conferences and regional invitationals. Looking back, one event still leaves an impression on Connie today 34 years later.

鈥淲e found ourselves on the track with the U.S. Women鈥檚 Olympic Team which was 鈥� awe-inspiring. It had Alice Brown, Florence Griffith-Joyner, also known as 鈥楩lo Jo.鈥� She was the anchor on the relay. And I was the anchor on the relay. We competed in the same race. I will say that they finished quite a bit ahead of us. But it was just exciting to be in the presence of some of those Olympic runners. So that was one of the highlights of my running career.鈥�

She would leave college that next year with an associate鈥檚 degree鈥攄rawing her running career to a close. In short time, Connie would begin a new chapter in her life: becoming both a wife and a mother. As the years went by, she vowed not to lose sight of the one goal that eluded her at Weber State: completing a bachelor鈥檚 degree in business.

It would take 30 years for Connie to recognize an opportunity to pick up where she left off. And she took it. 鈥淚鈥檇 been considering going back to school because my two youngest children were about to graduate from college and I decided I needed to have my bachelor鈥檚. I did some research. 黑料传送门 was very affordable, and I鈥檇 heard some good things about it. I found that it was the best bang for my buck and the best program for where I was in my life at that time.鈥�

In retrospect, she attributes her success at 黑料传送门 to her experiences as a competitive runner.听

鈥淩unning has taught me so many valuable lessons. I was a sprinter. So I like to move quickly. I like to get things done. That鈥檚 my mindset."

"I wasn鈥檛 a long-distance runner. I wasn鈥檛 the type of person who could go for a long run and clear my head. I want to get in there, compete, get it done, and go on to the next thing.鈥�

Using this no-nonsense approach, Connie completed her bachelor鈥檚 degree within a year鈥檚 time. Then, earned her master鈥檚 degree in management and leadership in less than four months.听

鈥淚t鈥檚 interesting when I think about what running taught me and how I was able to carry that over into my schooling to get my degree (at 黑料传送门). I learned that it鈥檚 on you...it鈥檚 individual goals鈥t鈥檚 on me to get it done. And finish strong. That鈥檚 the same thing I did during my time at 黑料传送门. There were people to support me. But, it was me getting up in that office (to study) when maybe I didn鈥檛 want to. So there were a lot of parallels to being motivated, being self-driven, and to have a mindset that this is on me to get done, so I鈥檓 going to do it.鈥�

Although Connie no longer runs competitively, she does coach track for youth athletes in her community. She鈥檚 also a featured Hall of Fame athlete at her alma mater: West High School.

Not that Connie is one to dwell on the past. Always striving to achieve her personal best, she鈥檚 already planned her next move鈥� earning an MBA at 黑料传送门. A goal which already was achieved by her own husband, who was inspired in part, by Connie鈥檚 example as a model 黑料传送门 student.

If an air of competition exists between Mr. and Mrs. Washington, it starts and ends in the classroom. Not on the track.

鈥淵eah, the days of sprinting around the track are over for me. (But) I鈥檝e got him beat by miles. He didn鈥檛 get that gene. Don鈥檛 tell him I told you that!鈥� she laughs.听

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