Blogging Outloud

Hi folks,  my name is Ellen Gagnon, and I am a 25-year resident of New Hampshire.  I moved here back in the early 1980's.  In that time I raised 3 kids, started and closed a business, weathered a divorce, worked 2, and sometimes 3, jobs to make ends meet (thankfully that episode was short-lived because it was really crazy-hard to juggle the kids, daycare and the 3 different work schedules.)  I marched in Washington DC, watched on TV as "The Wall" came down, helped to open a homeless shelter in my community, got an Associates Degree, and picked up a promising job in a locally owned high-tech firm, with retirement, stock and options.  As the new millennium dawned I fell in love again.  In September I bore witness to a nation in grief, sent my oldest son off to college, bought a house and then lost my job in the dot com bubble burst.  I rolled over what was left of my retirement accounts and took the loss on my stocks. I was righteously smug when the CEO went to jail.  After that, my resentment had quelled enough for me to start exploring my options for my future.  I was starting over again, and time seemed to be looming over me; retirement, another child heading to college, and bifocals.

That was when I decided to take the plunge and go back to school.  I have been a part-time student at Granite State College (formerly known as the College for Lifelong Learning,)  since 2007.  It was a good fit for me because I had college experience, I had LIFE experience.  I particularly liked that GSC was considered the Center for Adult Education in the state and was intrigued by the online classes for adults.   My degree is a self-design Bachelor of Science in Secondary Social Studies Education.  I am based out of the Rochester Regional Center, where I take classes either in Rochester, NH and Portsmouth, NH. 

In 2008,  I started utilizing work-study funds and began working in the ARIC lab, and the front office.  My full-time occupation is as a paraprofessional at the alternative high school, in Portsmouth, NH; (which I think is the BEST job in the whole world).  When I am not working or studying you can find me out in the community singing -- I belong to community chorus and recently have joined a smaller, female A Capella group.  I garden in the summer and tinker all year long.

Now I am adding blogging to the things I do.   I LOVE this place!!

     Sometimes the strangest thing happens when you least expect it.  I often refer to the opportunity known a work-study as the time to get paid doing my homework.  So here's a story for the books.

     When the lights went out at the Portsmouth Center, classes had already begun.  It took everyone by surprise.  A quick assessment of the situation, by staff, indicated that there was an interruption in our power source; the landlord had needed electrical work done and had scheduled it during the evening, not knowing, Granite State College offered Night College Classes.  The landlord was called and the situation would be corrected in 30 mins.  The staff made sure the access to the walkways were clear, provided information to the professors and offered flashlights.

     The staff huddled around the remaining flashlight in the foyer, lamenting the interruption, when a curious thing occurred.  Students were coming out of their classrooms and plopping themselves in the hall.  They brought their note pads and laptops with them and seemed to be working by the glow of the emergency lighting.  One staff member remarked,
    
     "That wouldn't happen at my college.  If it did we would wait the obligatory 15 minutes, and then say 'good-bye.'"

     "Isn't that interesting?" I said, giving a nod toward the students down the hall, "you know why they are doing that don't you?"

     "You know I still don't have a handle on who our students are so why don't you enlighten me Ellen." 

     "Well, I know for me, I pay for this experience and I am going to squeeze everything I can out of it,"  I laughed.  There it was the simple truth that drives me to go to classes after working all day.  To stay up late writing papers or doing research.  Or being patient while the electricians get the power back on.  All the effort and determination boiled down to simple logical equation; if I put my money in then I will get my money's worth out.  

     Not an epiphany -- but it sure was nice to know I am not alone.   Strange, huh?

    

     I was driving home from class, minding my own business, when I noticed the advertisment at the local drug store.  The marquee sign proclaimed "READING GLASSES Buy 1 Get One FREE".   As I drove by I noticed there were A LOT of cars in the parking lot.  That made me laugh.  I thought, 'What a great strategy for getting folks into the store. '  From that thought it was only a hop, skip and a jump to the idea for this blog: an open letter to the Granite State College Marketing Department.  So here it is.

     Dear Marketing Department,

     Since Granite State College is New Hampshire's premier Adult Education School, it makes immense sense to market directly to the adult market.  I am writing to express my interest in these activities by suggesting a new merchandising idea; reading glasses! 

     Now I do not want you to dismiss this idea outright, so take some time and think about it while I expand on the idea.  I know, based on my attending classes, that a good portion of the student population is not your traditional college-aged student.  We are more mature and as such our needs are not your traditional college-aged student needs.  If we need pens or pads of paper, (which are the traditional merchandising items given out by EVERYONE,) we will buy them.  So to capture our attention you have got to make it worthwhile to us. 

     The social reality is that reading glasses are becoming as inevitable as taxes.  You could consider them the "It" item for our demographic.   All the high tech gadgets are whiz-bang, but not essential to our age group.  Give us something that is going to be useful while being unprententious.  I am sure there is a vendor out there who will help craft a few styles of reading glasses which incorporate the school logo.  And when we lose them, because we will, we will know exactly where we can get a new pair. 

     If this merchandising idea catches on, and I think it will,  we could easily transition this idea from a merchandising device into a profit making venture; i.e. a replacement for the school ring.   I'm just saying  --  think about it.

     Very Truly Yours,

     Ellen Gagnon
 

     In my head I have a VERY dramatic life.  And though it may be troublesome for folks to know this factoid about me, you also need to understand, I crack myself up.  It happens most often when I am driving in my car.  I begin by trying to "noodle-out" an issue I am having and before I know it I am laughing out loud at the ridiculous turns my mind has taken.  (In case you are wondering it doesn't matter whether I have passengers in the car or not. Though my family has gotten used to me, there is always a bit of awkwardness when having to explain my giggling to a new passenger in the car with me.)   

    We weren't "rich" by any means.   We had enough to pay our bills and put a little bit away for the proverbial rainy day.  At times I worked a second job so we could save a little more for some of the extras.  When I made the decision to go back to school I sought the support of my family.  Everyone was terrific.  My daughter and sons had moved out and were living their own lives, so they did not need daily mothering.  My partner of 13 years was excited that I was doing something solely for myself.  The funny thing here is that it is easy to tell someone 'Go for it,' but it is another thing to be the person doing the going. 

    We sat down and figured out the finances.  That was the biggest consideration I thought, but I was scared.  To help myself get through that feeling I began to daydream a little.  Visualizing the scene;
    For me to choose college would mean my family would have to get along with out me. OK, the truth is, in the back of my head I wanted someone to say,

        "No we can't do this without you here.  Don't leave us alone, by ourselves,"  and maybe there would be a little bit of a scene -- some tears, falling on the floor, a little begging.  I of course would then turn to my family and say some George Patton-ish inspirational thing, (sort of like his "Americans-love-a-winner-Americans-will-not-tolerate-a-loser," speech on the eve of the Allied invasion of France in 1944, with a pinch of martyrdom added in;) throwing the back of my hand to my forehead I would exclaim,

        "Step aside, after all I'm doing this for you too." 

    You get the picture.  Fear kept me from pursuing my college degree, and I have learned when I can laugh at myself those fears do not seem as big an obstacle as they once were.  It then frees me to make choices that support my goals.  Choosing Granite State College, has also helped minimize my fears.   I do not ALWAYS have to be out of the house taking classes, GSC offers itself as one of New Hampshire's premier,  Online State Colleges, that means it offers Affordable Continuing Education close to home, (and in some cases right in my home!)  Check off my two biggest fears; money and location!  

When I do work study at the Portsmouth facility,  I usually stop by Barbara Bolko's office to let her know I am in the office and available if she needs assistance with a task.   This day, was a sunny afternoon, and the sun was streaming through the mini blinds in her office.    Granite State College has a virtual library but it also has a very real librarian.  Barbara is the GSC librarian.   In her office space she has an innocuous piece of art that she has framed on her window sill, called a word cloud. 

In my head I said 'I bet I could do that,' and as if on cue, Barbara said, "You can make one of those yourself."

She created it herself using www.wordle.net.  Her cloud was created from a description of what her duties are as a librarian, and now serves as a conversation piece. 

In returning to college I am often haunted by the distractions that had prevented me from completing my degree sooner; past disappointments, not enough time, or not enough money.  This internal mind babble expresses my self doubt and has provided me with years of distractions.  It has been a struggle to figure out the type of learner that I am and the type of learner that I want to be.  So when I agreed to blog for GSC about my story as a typical student, I was sure I would find out more about myself.   And when I woke up this morning, well before the alarm, thinking of Barbara and her Wordle art, I asked myself, 'Why is Barbara on my mind?!'  I thought, 'it must be the Wordle art,' because quite frankly I do not know what I would have in common with a librarian.  

It took me awhile to figure it out-- how Barbara's Wordle art story connects to my story as a student.  The truth is itwasn't the art, it was Barbara and her understated support for trying something new.   That is the story that needed to be told.

Having evening college classes are the best option for adults returning to school, but it's not always easy to be away from home.  Granite State College offers nine community-based academic centers.  GSC is known for its small classes, affordable tuition, and supportive faculty.  What they don't talk about are the folks who make up the student body.  As I sit in the foyer of the Portsmouth Campus, doing my work study, I notice there is a group of women chatting near the microwave.  They're here for their Winter Session classes which had just begun. When folks come in they are bundled up tight against the weather.   After they arrive, they quickly unbundle themselves and settle in.   One of the women had come in early to work on an assignment that was due that evening and she was warming her dinner in the microwave.  The others had just arrived.  They were now trading recipes.   
     
"Last night, I made a soup because I had class tonight and I knew I wouldn't have time to cook.  It turned out to be pretty good.  I started with a chicken broth, then added hot sausage, kale, and potatoes.  I threw in about a cup of frozen corn, to make it look pretty.  Easy as that," said the first woman.

"That sounds wicked good!  My current fave is oatmeal.  I take 1 whole green apple cored and diced, and add to a hot bowl of oatmeal, topped with a handful of sliced almonds.  It's tasty, easy to make, high in fiber and low in calories, " says one women, counting off the benefits on her fingers. 

"Ooh, that sounds yummy!" exclaims the next, as all three women walk into their classroom. 
 
Now that classes have begun and and the foyer is quiet again, I start to wonder what I'll have for dinner tonight. 

Today on my Facebook page, I saw my friend's status. This really, is not a big deal since that is what FB is all about, posting your "status," and having your friends respond to it.  But you have to know Jen to REALLY appreciate her new status.  

She is in her late 20's, working fulltime, recently out of a relationship and taking classes as she can.  She is bright, and intelligent.  Yet she has to start over as a Freshman.   Today her status was " Jennifer -- is sick of taking Freshman classes."  To which her friends responded in kind: Colin said, "Ditto that;" Hannah wrote, "It kinda sucks doesn't it?"  

It was Mary's response that caught my eye.  She wrote, "Jen, you should take classes through Granite State (UNH pays), more mature classmates, and more realistic learning!!" 

"Bingo," I said out loud, and I responded to Jen's status by saying "@Mary, I concur; GSC Freshmen get it!!"  And the truth is, we do.  We' re not teenagers away from home for the first time, with new found freedoms.  We are moms and dads, workers and supervisors, coming from all walks of life.  We come to our classes already experienced with the ways of the world.  It is this shared attribute of the student body that seperates GSC from other the Colleges of New Hampshire.  We bring that learning into each of our classes and it is welcomed and valued.  

Granite State College is truly New Hampshire's public college for adult learners of all ages.

It's hard starting over.  I do work study at Granite State College's Rochester Regional Center, where I answer phones, do filing and assist in the office in a variety of different tasks.   But the most important task I do is to greet the students.  Each student who comes through the door has a story to tell -- who they are; what they do; why they came back to school; how hard it is; what it costs for the babysitter; the support they receive; the obstacles they face.  Each story is important because to the person who is telling it -- it is their everything. 

A woman who walked into the office on the first night of classes this semester smiled at me as she waited for her turn to ask a question.  I smiled back as I directed the nice fellow in front of me to the room down the hall.  She was a middle aged woman, a little older than me, I guessed.  Everything about her said she was practical, and purposeful.  Her hair, her glasses.  Even the way she had her purse on her shoulder, and the way she carried a notebook in the crook of her elbow and held it  tight against her chest.   When the young man left the office area she stepped forward and said, rather succinctly, "I'm here to take Adult Education Math classes, could you tell where the Technology Center is?"

I paused momentarily thinking of the room assignments, and I must have had a confused look on my face because the woman began to speak again,

"Oh, I think I made a mistake, I am supposed to be at the Spaulding High School." she said smiling again.   Smiling myself, I remember the first time I walked into a University of New Hampshire System college, desperately trying to find my Freshman English class.  

"Well, we all have been there," I said to the woman who was still smiling. 

" I know exactly what I did; my daughter wanted to look at going here,"  she laughed.  "But my class is at the high school on the third floor."  

"You know, I 've done the very same thing...more times than I can count.  So once you get done with your class at Spaulding, you can come over to GSC."

"That's my plan.  First my daughter, then me,"  said the smiling woman.  As she started to turn toward the door I realized how much I appreciated her at that moment.  She told me very little with her words yet enough for me to know her story. 

"Wait," I said as I handed her our catalog.  "Take this with you.  You're gonna need it when you come back."