Today, there’s not much we can’t access online. But one area has fallen short in terms of the breadth and depth of online access: high quality education. Thankfully, that may be about to change thanks to the initiatives of 2U, a company that aims to revolutionize higher education by developing the world’s best online educational experiences in partnership with leading universities. This global, online educational initiative really hits home for me. I built my business while still in school. If this program were available to me during college, it would have allowed me to work full-time andreceive college credit from international universities. Fortunately, I didn’t have to make the choice between my education and my business, but Andrew Hermalyn did. He’s a member of 2U’s founding team, now the Executive Vice President of 2U’s Semester Online, a one-of-a-kind program offering rigorous for-credit undergraduate courses through prestigious college and universities. He’s one former student who is making the convenience and accessibility of online learning available to all, and his story deserves a second look. I recently spoke with one of Andrew’s long-time connections, Paul Critchlow, the Vice Chairman of Public Markets at Bank of America BAC +0.22% Merrill Lynch. He shared some insight about how Andrew got his start with 2U: Unlike most kids his age, Andrew wasn’t collecting baseball cards. He was more set on collecting business cards of CEOs he admired. This led him to handwrite letters to leaders of America’s largest companies explaining that he was nine years old, wanted to become a CEO, and was interested in their business card. Even more surprising: a shocking number actually wrote back. Paul Critchlow happened to be one of them. During his time at Lehigh University, Andrew parlayed those professional relationships into a summer internship with the founding team of a tech startup called 2tor, Inc. (now 2U, Inc.), before the business was even incorporated. He was placed in charge of building the company’s formal internship program. As the summer drew to a close, the CEO invited him to join the company full-time. This ignited a dilemma that I — and many other professionals — can relate to. Andrew had to decide whether to drop out of college or head back to college. He chose his education and returned to Lehigh, but stayed close to 2U, interning remotely. Today, Andrew’s work with 2U has culminated in a new program called Semester Online, which empowers students to choose between their education and their career. Semester Online, formed as a consortium of top colleges, offers high-quality classes for real college credit. Its interactive platform allows students to study from anywhere in the world. 2U’s Semester Online just took its educational network international with the addition of Trinity College Dublin, Ireland and the University of Melbourne, Australia. That means students in the U.S. can now access outstanding international educational opportunities — and college credit — from the comfort of their home or a local coffee shop. 2U is truly leading a movement in transforming how we access education, and as Andrew’s story indicates, it has big implications for entrepreneurs. I’m excited to see the continued impact of its efforts. Source: Education News