A Picture Perfect Education

First class photographer and CollegePlus! student Mandy Novotny balances accelerated studies, work and passion as she blazes through her college degree.

By Linnea Caswell

Is it possible to run a business while attending college? Mandy Novotny, a CollegePlus! student from Texas, answers that question with a resounding yes! Novotny owns a freelance photography business and has earned 42 college credits in just 8 months of study. Novotny plans to finish her degree by August 2009, just 19 months after she started.

With consistent study habits, a love of learning, and a big vision for her business, Novotny is realizing the dream of successful entrepreneurship while earning a BA in Communications.

The Education Process

Up to this point, Novotny has found her CollegePlus! studies fascinating and completely rewarding. “I’m thrilled to be apart of a program that rewards me for my hard work and given me the flexibility to maintain my areas of passion at the same time.” An enthusiastic learner, she views the whole degree process as valuable–not just the final result of earning a credential.

Study Tips

As a CollegePlus! student, photography instructor, and entrepreneur, Novotny has found that scheduling is key in balancing her various priorities. She has special insight into ways entrepreneurs can find study time while starting or running their own businesses.

“Every once in a while I have a ‘BFO’ – Blinding Flash of the Obvious,” Novotny laughs. “My #1 study tip is: Just do it! Make time each day for study and be consistent about it.”

Secondly, Novotny suggests that students explain what they’re learning to someone else. With two siblings who are in or have completed the CollegePlus! program, she often steers dinnertime conversation to a discussion of whatever subjects they’re currently studying.

Novotny also rewards herself periodically with "carrot sticks" for completing certain tests. That way she has tangible goals that she is working toward along the way of accomplishing her main objective of completing her degree.

A Passion from God

Novotny encourages fellow CollegePlus! students to have a bigger vision for their education and business endeavors than just “getting by” or making money. You really need “a big burning passion,” Novotny relates. “Something that gets you out of bed in the morning, a big ‘why’ behind everything you do.”

Having a broader view of the reason you’re doing something can help get you through the little or not-so-fun details of running a business or completing an education. God-given enthusiasm and direction is a must for successful businesses, educations, and lives, she said.

What's Mandy's Burning Passion?

Novotny has always been interested in communications and started shooting photos for a ministry when she was 17. Thus began a love that has developed over the years into a full-fledged passion for communicating through a combination of photography, graphic design, and writing.

She began as a student at the Institute of Photographic Studies and now serves as an instructor with the school. On her own however, Novotny enjoys “keeping sharp,” in her words, by doing freelance photography for many different events, like the recent Rebelution conferences by Alex and Brett Harris.

“One of my favorite aspects of photography is documenting God at work,” Novotny said. Whether it’s a wedding, a Vacation Bible School, a piece of architecture, a conference, or a sunrise, she loves capturing the details of how God unfolds His plans in people and places.

World-Spanning Dreams

The flexibility and cost-effectiveness of CollegePlus! have been vital in helping Novotny further her education while sharing God’s love and excellence through her photography business.

As she strives to communicate Biblical truth creatively, she looks forward to bringing back pictures from around the world. One of Novotny’s dreams is to travel to South America or Asia to document what God is doing there – “And not come back till all my memory cards are full and my batteries are dead!”

Linnea Caswell is a CollegePlus! graduate who earned a BA in Liberal Studies from Thomas Edison State College and is a certified paralegal. She lives in Northwestern Illinois where she teaches piano, helps her dad with legal research, and spends a lot of time with her family.