10/05/2026
Meet Ashton Lawrence, a returning Drury University student finishing his Business Administration degree online.
Before Drury GO, Ashton was a commercial pilot, flying military contract work and private flights for about a year. He loved it, but as a hobby, not a career. What stuck with him was the degree he never finished. So he came back.
Now Ashton works full-time in finance at a community bank in Springfield, taking no more than two classes at a time so work, school, and life stay manageable. His advisor, Lauren Burton, has been with him step by step. In his words: "Lauren Burton, my advisor, has been so helpful for the entire process. She's made it super easy for me, both scheduling my classes as well as seeing where I'm at, what I need to do to finish the degree."
Life didn't slow down for his degree either. A nephew born six weeks early and a promotion at work pushed his timeline back a semester. Ashton isn't rushing it. He's aiming to graduate next May, and if that changes, that's okay with him too.