January 26, 2022
Story and photo by Joe Vinduska
Great Bend Native Payton Doll was anxious about going to college out of high school, but after two years at Barton with his associate degree in hand, he’s now comfortable and enjoying the rest of his college career at Fort Hays State University.
“I was very worried about stepping into the college world from high school,” he said. “I remember that still to this day. Barton was a great transition and it’s part of the reason why I’m still doing what I’m doing today up at Hays.”
Doll was able to save money because Barton’s tuition is cheaper than a university and by staying at home he was also able to save by not paying for housing.
“I chose Barton because it was great to save money and be at home but I still wanted to be a part (of the on-campus life) so I stepped into the ambassador area,” he said. “I still met plenty of friends and I helped give tours of the college.”
Doll is studying marketing at FHSU and wants to work in commercial real estate as an appraiser and knows that the sooner he can graduate, the sooner he can start earning money, which is what lead him to supplement his university classes with Barton Online classes that he can transfer to FHSU.
“I took a range of classes including accounting II and managerial accounting through Barton Online,” he said. “The classes were great and Barton showed me that you can do this as long as you show up and try.”
Doll said that Barton Online classes are great because they offered flexibility and allowed him to work a job while still making progress on his education.
“I would sit in my room in my robe and just try to focus on my classes and just get them done in the two hours I had between waking up and getting ready for work and that was kind of my routine to do that every Tuesday and Thursday,” he said. “Honestly, with my online classes, that was enough time as long as I focused.”
Doll said another benefit was that his classes transferred easily to FHSU. He took both traditional and online classes through Barton, which helped set him up to graduate in May of 2023 and he encourages any student to look at using online classes through Barton.
“It kind of helped with my lifestyle; it helped save money and it helped save some time too when I was moving up to a new place and trying to meet new friends,” he said. “It just kind of made me be able to get a job and go to school while doing that as well.”
For more information about Barton Online, visit online.bartonccc.edu.