On Being an Adult Student at Kutztown University
in Continuing Ed?!
Welcome, I celebrate each and every one of you as this year's Alpha Sigma Lambda inductees and your dedication to your dream of earning a degree.It has not been an easy pursuit I am sure, but one certainly worth the effort. Last April, just like each of you, I was invited to become a member of Alpha Sigma Lambda and it was truly a great honor. I remember telling my husband that before I graduate from KU it would be great if they developed a program in which the adult student could be recognized for their efforts. Some of my friends would talk about getting on the dean's list at other local colleges and I often felt disappointed that even though I had reached a high level of academic achievement it seemed to go unnoticed by the university. Alpha Sigma Lambda is the fulfillment of that wish. You should all be quite proud!
In spring of 1996 I enrolled at KU through the extended learning program. With only 6 credits I had earned at LCCC I set my sights on a bachelor's of science degree in Psychology. In the past nine years, I have experienced many changes personally, professionally, and academically. When I started at KU my son was in high school.
I was a parent at 18, one year out of high school. My son Justin, became my primary responsibility so when he was nearly grown I decided it was my chance to go to school for the education I had often dreamed of. Then in 1998 I made the tough decision to separate and divorce after 14 years of marriage. Now with only my job as a Training and Development Supervisor for a large credit union and school to focus on, I was taking classes all year round. The confidence I had gained in myself as a student helped me tremendously through some difficult personal times.
My job status changed to a Branch Operations Manager overseeing the function of six branch offices and so did my personal life. In April of 2001 I married Bob. Bob has been my greatest supporter since we started dating in 1999. He has unselfishly accepted the limitations on my time, energy and involvement. Each of you here tonight knows of what I speak. How many times have you had to say "no" to that night out with friends, family, or significant other because of some paper or project that was looming over you?
How many times have you fallen asleep with your arms around your textbooks instead of your loved one? And how many opportunities have you had to let pass you by because it conflicted with your class schedule? And I am certain you have had anxiety over trying to be at work and at school at the same time. Not to mention the commute to and from school.
I was taking Man and the Environment an environmental science class, with Dr. Joe Piscetelli when Bob and I got married. We married on a Friday and that following Tuesday was a bike and boat trip with my class. Since we had scheduled our honeymoon for May when the semester was through we joked that our honeymoon was the class trip. The entire day Dr. Piscetelli would stop to have us kiss and to take our picture since we were newlyweds! The irony is that the bike and boat trip turned out to be our honeymoon as we had to postpone our honeymoon due to my unexpected spinal surgery that May. I remember taking my final for that class in excruciating pain and driving home crying the whole way. I had lost the feeling in my right foot and could barely walk. That summer as I was recovering, I enrolled in the course Marriage and the Family with Dr. Tavakoli. It was in that class that I met another student Lana Parham who had been in a terrible accident with a tractor-trailer while driving out to KU and was facing spinal surgery herself. Lana would later tell me that my phone call to her while she was in the hospital and the encouragement that I gave her about her recovery did more for her than I would ever know. The connections that you make with the people you have met and will meet while you are at KU can change your life or someone else's.
I cannot say enough about the faculty here at KU. After studying Astronomy with Dr. Loomis I invited him to speak at the sailing club Bob and I belong to, and he was just a wealth of information on celestial navigation. Dr. Peg Spiers is the inspiration for a local cleanup I am presently organizing in my community this April 23 rd along Spring Creek. She introduced me to an ecoartist Merle Ukeles whose work with the New York Sanitation department got me thinking about how I could get involved.
This December I will graduate and while I am excited to see the dream realized.
I think about how great the journey has been along the way! I wish you all the best with your own journey. I leave you with this quote from Helen Keller:
"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved."