College degrees in half the time
BY RICHARD ZOWIE
B E A CON W R I T E R
For students craving hands-on
learning at a fast pace and an early
start on their career, there’s a perfect
fit: Hallmark University.
Celebrating their 50th anniversary
of changing lives, Hallmark was
founded by missionaries Richard and
Carolyn Fessler. Beginning as an
aviation maintenance school named
Hallmark Aero-Tech at Stinson Airfield,
Hallmark University’s excellence has
resulted in the university branching
out to business, nursing, and information
technology.
“Dad’s mission field turned out to
be right here in San Antonio,” says
Brent Fessler, Chief Advancement and
Institutional Effectiveness Officer and
son of the founders. “We have a sacrificial
desire to see our students succeed.”
As a result of its origins in aviation
maintenance, many misperceive
Hallmark, believing it’s a trade school.
“Far from it,” says Brent. “Hallmark has
evolved into a thriving university that
takes a unique approach.”
“We’re not a liberal arts university,
but we are professionally focused in all
our degrees,” he says. “We let the
industry drive the offering of our
Hallmark University
offers programs in
business, nursing,
information technology,
aviation maintenance
degrees. This makes us look different,
and potential students and families
can confuse us with trade schools.”
Hallmark offers bachelor’s and
master’s degree programs in the same
vein as ‘high-demand universities,’
such as UTSA or University of the
Incarnate Word.”
Brent described Hallmark’s current
programs of study as a response to San
Antonio’s needs. Hallmark created the
nursing program as a result of the
reality that San Antonio has a significant
shortage of registered nurses.
“The model set for us early on was
to have two customers: students and
industry,” Brent says. “We’ve always
tried to respond to industry, and they
have helped design our biggest
programs. We work very closely with
the industry to design the academic
programs.” Because of this approach,
over 90% of Hallmark’s graduates in
2018 found careers in their chosen
industry.
Hallmark’s four schools include the
Martha Fessler School of Nursing, the
College of Aeronautics, the School of
Business and School of Information
Technology.
“What sets us apart is we offer
professionally-focused degrees in half
the time,” Brent says. “We don’t take
summers off. The students go year
cybersecurity and
School of Nursing students practice
healthcare studies on lifelike training
mannequins at Hallmark University.
Students work under a CFM56 jet engine donated to
the College of Aeronautics by Southwest Airlines.
around. They have three very full
semesters instead of just two. When
you do that, it takes 28 months instead
of four years. Part of this stems from
our ‘go fast’ passion in aviation. It’s
going fast, but safely. We don’t like
wasting time, and we find our students
don’t like wasting time, either.”
Octavio Roque, Hallmark University
Class of 2004, came from a struggling
family.
“ Pulmonair and Hallmark University share similar
origins. We are both Christian family-founded and
Kingdom-focused organizations. Hallmark University
has taken education on innovatively by offering affordable,
accelerated degree programs rooted foundationally
in a set of specific core values. More and more employers
like Pulmonair are using organizational core values to
measure their candidates during the hiring process.
Hallmark University focuses on building character for
the future leaders of our communities.
They are uniquely equipped to
position the next generation
to succeed at a higher level.”
May / June 2019 www.saBeacon.com 7
John Raimondo, D.C., CEO, Pulmonair