Student Profile Archives

Anais Kofie
Achieving Greater Success!

Confidence has been proven to be one of the keys to a successful career. Anais Kofie gained her greatest confidence while studying for her master’s degree in Instructional Systems Development at UMBC.

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a minor in chemistry from Howard University in 1995, Kofie started working as a trainer and instructional designer for SI International, a provider of information services, technology and network solutions primarily to the Federal Government.

“Traveling around the country, I trained on Government Systems, always craving to understand more and more. I wanted to better understand the theory and best practices behind many of the systems I was using at work,” said Kofie.

Although her experience grew, Kofie learned early on in her career that to achieve the level of career success she desired she would need to further her education. She explained, “I didn’t want to be passed-up for a promotion because of not having the degree even though I had the experience.” So, Kofie decided to pursue her master’s.

In researching where she would pursue her studies, she found UMBC to have the most comprehensive Web-based training available. This was a big deciding factor, as it was an area of strong interest, and one that ultimately helped her choose UMBC’s ISD-TS Program.

In addition to the Web-based training, Kofie also capitalized on the skills she learned in the Human Performance Technology and Consulting for Learning & Development classes by applying the knowledge gained at work. The most meaningful project she recalled was a team project for her Human Performance Technology class. “We evaluated the graduate school’s recruitment techniques and successes, and made recommendations in a couple of areas. I really enjoyed learning more about the “behind the scenes” processes of UMBC and the University of Maryland System. I also relished in the opportunity to offer my recommendations on a real issue.”

When asked what her greatest take-away from the program was, she candidly replied, “The confidence that I have gained in knowing what I’m doing at work and having the paperwork to back that up. I think, in turn, that gives my colleagues more confidence in my suggestions and more buy-in.” She also added that learning the industry jargon and gaining the ability to justify her proposals in a way that her non-training colleagues can understand have proved to be invaluable benefits of the ISD-TS program.

Now that Kofie has completed the ISD-TS Program and gained the confidence to boost her career even further, she is fast on her way to achieving her goals of becoming a Corporate Training Director and/or an Organizational Training Director.