Friends and former coworkers, Karen Larkin (left) and Jennifer Gallmann (right) enrolled in our Project Management Certificate program together in spring 2020 and supported each other throughout the class.
Accountability partners offer mutual support in PCS program Friends take Project Management Certificate course together By Adam S. Kamras Jennifer Gallmann was confident the Project Management Certificate program offered by the University of Delaware Division of Professional Continuing Studies (UD PCS) could help her in her career, but she was still hesitant to enroll.
“Going into this class, I thought that I was not going to learn anything new because I had been doing it for so long, and I was sorely mistaken.” —Jennifer Gallmann
Gallmann, who earned her bachelor’s degree from UD in 1990 and completed the PCS Paralegal Certificate program shortly thereafter, has held a variety of project management-related roles over the years, mostly doing information technology work in the pharmaceutical industry. Though she knew she had a background that would enable her to thrive in the program, the midcareer professional did not know if she was ready to be a student once again at this point of her life. “I had not been in a college class in many, many years, so the thought of going back to school was a bit intimidating to me,” said Gallmann. Following some thought as to how the endeavor could be less daunting, she reached out to one of her friends and former coworkers, Karen Larkin, to see if she would be interested in taking the class with her. Larkin agreed, and the accountability partners completed the program together in spring 2020. Not only did they support each other throughout the class, but they continued to provide mutual motivation during their preparation for the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification exam, which they both passed later
in the year. While UD’s Project Management Certificate program is not a PMP exam preparation course, it provides current foundational knowledge and offers an opportunity to earn the contact hours needed to apply for the certification exam.
Sharing ideas and observations “It looked like a really good opportunity, and I thought what better way to engage in something new than to do it with a friend and a former coworker,” said Larkin. “Sometimes it can be a little scary doing something new. You learn much better when it is fun. We all do better when we have a rapport with the people we are learning with.” Along with sharing notes and talking about the various concepts and topics that were addressed in class, Gallmann and Larkin enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with each other on a personal level when time permitted. They regularly took advantage of being in the program together by having conversations about the material presented. “It was really nice to be able to have someone to bounce ideas off who I was already familiar with,” said Gallmann. “There is no way I would have passed that exam without this class and without Karen.”
PMP certification highly recognized Gallmann’s initial interest in the University of Delaware’s Project Management Certificate program was greatly influenced by her desire to earn her PMP certification. Though the designation has
