40 Under Forty Awards 2024
Miko Nino | 37
Assistant Vice President of Adult and Online Education, Rhode Island College
What is the biggest challenge currently facing your industry and how are you responding to it? There is still some stigma regarding the quality of online and adult programs. There is an assumption that these programs lack quality and do not prepare competitive professionals. This is a huge misconception because it’s all about the design of instruction, not the modality or population. I see myself as an advocate who is breaking this stigma and showing through programming and my own teaching that adult and online learners can be competitive professionals and earn skills that can be an asset for the workplace.
What is the best advice you have ever received? He who perseveres conquers.
What was your first job? I was an actor for a musical theater production in my native Panama.
What advice would you give your 22-year-old self? Be patient. If you keep planning and working hard, it will happen.
What is your preferred source for national news? The New York Times and the Providence Business News.
What led you to pursuing a career in your current industry? I have always been fascinated by learning and the potential it has to change a person’s life forever. For that reason, I wanted to be in an industry in which I could make learning accessible, affordable, effective and long-lasting.