Heidi Arbuckle

Heidi Arbuckle started the Metropolitan College program in fall 2014. At just 19 years of age, and her junior year just beginning at the University of Louisville, Arbuckle’s achievements are already impressive. Arbuckle works third shift at UPS as a frontline supervisor to access tuition free post-secondary education benefits through the Metropolitan College program. She currently majors in English at the University of Louisville where she is a Trustee’s Scholarship recipient and a University Louisville Honors Program participant. Most recently, Arbuckle completed the spring 2015 semester with an overall cumulative GPA of 3.8 while working nights at UPS.

She feels her greatest accomplishment in life so far has been becoming a supervisor at a Fortune 500 company. Arbuckle has maintained A’s and B’s in her college classes while balancing the responsibility and increased work hours that goes along with being a supervisor. Arbuckle commented, “A lot of people try to deny my claim to credibility as a supervisor because of my age. I had to work harder to gain credibility and respect and prove that my age was just a number as far as my job was concerned.”

It is Arbuckle’s strong academic achievement, ability to effectively balance work and life responsibilities, and her commitment to her career field that she received the Spring 2015 Outstanding UofL MC Student Award.

Arbuckle’s full-time UPS supervisor had this to say:

Arbuckle expects to graduate with her Bachelor of Arts in English in May 2017. Her long term career goals are to become a full-time supervisor at UPS and work her way up in management and to become a publisher or head editor for a renowned publication. She has already gained valuable work experience at Spectrum Publishing where she served as head editor, lead writer, and assisted in producing poetry events.

Arbuckle has advice to give to current and future Metropolitan College participants. She says, “Don't overload yourself. If you can't balance school, work, and a personal life when going to school full-time, then cut back on your credit hours. Yeah you might not graduate in four years but you'll have your sanity and your school will still be paid for.” Arbuckle stressed the importance of Metropolitan College students taking summer classes, which are covered by MC benefits, to avoid being overloaded with credit hours during the fall and spring semesters. In fact, Arbuckle is currently taking a summer course and makes it a point to schedule her classes, when possible, in the afternoon to ensure she gets proper rest and has ample time to complete homework assignments. “My personal life is pretty much set aside until the weekend,” said Arbuckle.

Arbuckle feels very confident about her future career goals and credits the Metropolitan College program for requiring all students to complete the Career and Academic Planning Program (CAPP), which helps to prepare students for rewarding career opportunities. In addition, she acknowledged UPS’s role in helping her to prepare for her career field and stated, “UPS has taught me how to manage and coach employees, make business connections and maintain relationships, and handle stressful and demanding situations.”

Metropolitan College congratulates Heidi Arbuckle on her outstanding achievements. We wish you well in your educational and personal endeavors.

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We are proud of our current students and alumni and their incredible accomplishments! The MC Spotlight is a way for us to highlight the amazing things our current students and alumni are doing. As you read their stories, you will learn how their Metropolitan College experiences helped to shape their futures and influence their careers.

We are always on the lookout for inspiring MC Spotlight stories. If you or someone you know is interested in sharing a story with us, contact us at askmetro@kctcs.edu.

Note: At Metropolitan College, we consider our alumni anyone who has ever completed coursework and received tuition benefits with us.