UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Maria Rovers wears many hats — mother, wife, advocate, supporter, and online learner. Serving others is important to Rovers, and earning a bachelor’s degree is a step in her devotion to her family and community, she said.
After earning an associate degree, Rovers decided to continue her education in a bachelor’s program. As a mother of four children, one of whom was fighting a rare cancer, she needed the flexibility of a program that could allow her to do it all in her time.
As an online learner with Penn State World Campus, Rovers can do everything she needs while earning a bachelor’s degree to secure her family’s future.
She is one of thousands of people who are earning their degrees online through Penn State World Campus. On National Online Learning Day, Sept. 15, Penn State World Campus is celebrating students like Rovers.
Taking advantage of all online learning can offer
Rovers enrolled in courses online through Penn State World Campus because of its flexibility and her ability to earn a Penn State degree online. She changed her major a couple of times, but with the help of academic advising, finally found her perfect match, the Bachelor of Science in Security and Risk Analysis program.
The program, which is offered in partnership with the Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology, is setting her up for a career in cyber forensics and cybersecurity without having to give up spending time with her family.
“Penn State World Campus is online, but it feels like you’re not an online student,” she said. “You get to make connections with other students.”
Rovers is very active in the World Campus student community. She serves on the Penn State World Campus Student Government Association and the Penn State Administrative Council on Undergraduate Education (ACUE). ACUE is an advisory council that helps craft policies affecting students, faculty and other members of the Penn State community. She co-founded the Students with Children Club, a support organization for parents who are pursuing their degrees online.
She also completed an internship through the federal government’s Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS). She worked in digital media engagement with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
She’s hit obstacles along the way but is pushing toward the finish line.
“Being in a tough situation, it kind of keeps me motivated,” she said. “That’s my personality.”
Rovers said she’s been able to help students by sharing her own experiences in her positions with ACUE and student government.
Paying it forward
Rovers believes in paying it forward whenever she can. She came to the United States from the Philippines in 2008 in search of a better life.
“I was an immigrant here and was given an opportunity to have a better life than what I could have where I came from,” Rovers said. “Somebody did something for me to get me where I am now, and I always look back to that and ask how I can pay it forward someday.”
In addition to her education and extracurricular activities, Rovers is active in her Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, community. She and a small group of supporters founded “Smiles from Sean,” a nonprofit that aims to bring happiness to pediatric cancer patients and their families.
The nonprofit is named in honor of her eldest son, Sean, who was diagnosed with Central Nervous System Sarcoma, a rare type of pediatric brain cancer, in 2017. Sean was only 9 when he had to have invasive surgeries and radiation treatments.
Rovers was two months postpartum with their youngest child, and her husband had just lost his job. While she was spending time in the hospital supporting Sean, the community rallied around the family to cook meals and help keep life “normal” for the other Rovers children, she said. Rovers remembers the feeling of deciding whether she could afford to eat when a hospital social worker gave her money for food.
“That moment,” Rovers said, “it’s always in me.”
The generosity and support of the community and her son’s smiles during treatments inspired her to give back. Smiles from Sean gives “Smiley kits,” which are full of toys and motivational items, to kids fighting cancer and other health issues. The nonprofit continues to grow with Easter basket donation drives and distributions and other fundraisers. The group also raises money for a fund that covers incidental expenses for families caring for their child at UPMC Children’s Hospital.
Now 16, Sean is in remission, but his type of cancer is known to recur. The Rovers hope for a cancer-free future and continue to raise awareness and serve others.
Rovers is now an American citizen and working toward graduating in 2026. She hopes to work in the federal government or in cybersecurity and cyber forensics, she said. She also is a Margaret A. West and Nino Morello Jr. Trustee Scholarship recipient. Penn State World Campus students can apply for scholarships through the Student Center.
A Penn State degree online
Penn State World Campus has been offering a Penn State education online for more than 25 years, with a comprehensive portfolio of more than 200 degrees and certificates now available.
Its online learners have access to academic advising, student clubs and organizations, scholarships, career services, internships, and more.
Visit the Penn State World Campus website to learn more about the academic and extracurricular activities available for students enrolled online at Penn State World Campus.