Long before phrases like lifelong learning, personal branding, or human capital portfolios became common language, I was asking a deceptively simple question:
Why do working adults persist in learning after they already hold a degree?
That question became the foundation of my doctoral dissertation:
Abeyta, Edward L. (2009). A phenomenological study of post-baccalaureate adult working professionals enrolled in continuing education certificate programs. Capella University.
At the time, continuing education was often viewed as transactional—skills in, credentials out. What emerged from listening closely to adult learners told a very different story.
What they described wasn’t just education.
It was investment.
Listening to Lived Experience
Using a phenomenological approach, my research focused on the lived experiences of adult working professionals who chose to pursue post-baccalaureate certificate programs while balancing careers, families, and competing responsibilities.
From their stories, six core drivers of persistence emerged:
- Purposeful Networking
- Professional Enhancement
- Cognitive Interest
- Internal Expectations
- Family Cohesiveness
- Institutional Appraisal
These weren’t superficial motivations. They reflected how adults evaluate whether learning is worth the investment—of time, money, energy, and identity.
Looking back now, I realize something important:
These learners weren’t just enrolling in programs.
They were investing in themselves.
The Early Blueprint of MeIncorporated
Years later, as I developed the MeIncorporated concept—the idea that individuals should think of themselves as their own enterprise—it became clear that the roots of this philosophy were already present in that dissertation.
Each of the six findings aligns directly with how individuals build their personal stock value:
- Purposeful Networking → Social capital and market visibility
- Professional Enhancement → Skill appreciation and career equity
- Cognitive Interest → Innovation, adaptability, and long-term relevance
- Internal Expectations → Personal standards, discipline, and self-governance
- Family Cohesiveness → Stability, support systems, and sustainability
- Institutional Appraisal → External validation and brand signaling
In MeIncorporated terms, these learners were managing their human capital portfolio—long before the language existed.
Persistence Is a Signal of Value Alignment
One of the most enduring insights from the research is this:
Adults persist in learning when education aligns with who they are becoming—not just what they want to earn.
Persistence wasn’t driven solely by promotion or salary. It was driven by:
- Identity
- Purpose
- Belonging
- Confidence in the institution and in themselves
That insight continues to guide my work in higher education, workforce development, and personal growth.
Why This Still Matters Today
The economy has changed.
Technology has accelerated.
Careers are less linear than ever.
Yet the core question remains:
Is this investment increasing my personal value?
Whether someone is considering a certificate, a career pivot, or a new skill set, the same forces identified in 2009 are still at play. In fact, they are even more pronounced today.
MeIncorporated is not a departure from that research—it is its evolution.
From Dissertation to Doctrine
What began as an academic study has become a guiding framework:
- Individuals must manage themselves like a business
- Learning is capital expenditure, not a side activity
- Persistence follows purpose
- Your greatest asset is you
That lesson came not from theory alone—but from listening deeply to adult learners who understood, intuitively, that the smartest investment they could make was in themselves.