Granite State College Stories

If I was to appreciate one thing it would be my very striking journey from my homeland and those who gave me refuge in their countries. I left my country due to the civil war that had put the country into huge turmoil. I have been to Ethiopia for four years, Kenya for nearly ten years and finally to the United State from August 23rd 2001 to the present.

I have never been to school in my country and neither have my parents or any other family members. I remember going to grade one in Ethiopia before we were driven out by the regime change in 1991. It had been long treking and painful  for me and colleagues during those times.

In August 2001, I landed here with the idea of becoming the first ever person in the family who should reach the goal of achieving the break through in education. However, I was affected by the homesickness that overwhelmed me because of the long time that I had spent with no parents. So I decided to go back home in 2006 and get married to a girl that I knew back in Kenya.

In 2007, I came back and started to take some online adult education classes while doing a follow up on my wife's process to come here. It had not been easier and I personally learned a lot from that. Finally, my wife came here in 2008 and gave me a sense of relieve mentally. I am now a Granite State College student pursuing my BS in Business Management. It is my true pleasure to be a GSC student and I look forward to graduating next year if possible. To my fellow students, there is no hesitation to better living and there is no struggle with no reward. Remember that whatever you do has an outcome/end result.

Name: James Alier
Class of: 2012
Location: Manchester/Online
Degree: BS in Business Management

Hi Everyone!
I graduated from Granite State College in June of 2010 with a BS in Applied Studies with an option in management. This degree has opened the door for me to attend graduate school. I began my MFA Interior Design with a focus in sustainability in fall of 2010 and will graduate this May 2012. My planis  to teach full-time college level Interior Design. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate Granite State College.
I was never motivated in High School and as an adult, I wasn't too sure I could do it, but Granite State Ccollege helped me every step of the way and my confidence grew. Now, who knows? A PhD?

Name: Shelby/Hicks
Graduated: 2010 Concord
Location:
Email:
Degree:

Two months before I was to turn 50 I made up my mind to now go do something that I had wanted to do for a very long time.
It was scary walking into the Conway campus that first time but everyone there made me feel so welcome! Nancee couldn't go out of her way enough to calm my nerves and my anxiety about what I was going to do.
I took the application home, along with the catalog of courses. The very next week I went back and enrolled as a college freshman!
It has been two years since that fateful day and I do not regret one single moment of it! I will be graduating in June with my Associates Degree in Behavioral Science and have already committed for the next two years. I want my Bachelor's!!
I will be 54 at that time but am looking forward to the rest of my life!

Name: Karen Hildreth
Graduated: 2011
Location: Conway
Degree: AS

I graduated from GSC in June of 2010, 51 yrs young. GSC has given me far more than a Bachelors degree. Laid off in Nov '08 from the design & construction field, I was at a loss. My youngest still in High School my ability to move to more opportunities in my field was out of the question. I had taught as an adjunct faculty member and loved the prospect of teaching design full time. Problem #1 I didn't have an under grad degree. GSC with its weekend, evening and online classes made it happen. Everyone was supportive, informed and made it as easy as I could possibly imagine. Currently I am finishing my 1st semester for my MFA and will graduate in May '12. Thank you GSC for getting me here!

Name: Shelby S. Hicks
Graduated: GSC 6/10 Endicott MFA 5/12
Location: Concord
Email: sshicks12@gmail.com
Degree: BS applied studies w option in management

I was a police officer in Dover, NH when I decided to go back to school for my degree, and I chose GSC and never regretted that decision. The instructors were all working professionals who brought the real world into the classroom, which is the ultimate goal for any educational experience. I got my Bachelor's Degree in Management in 1989 and immediately applied to the University of New Hampshire's graduate school, completing my Master's Degree in Public Administration in 1993. The tools and learning experiences I had at GSC held me in good stead in my master's program, and I look back now on my time at GSC as a dynamic transitional period in my professional and personal life. I later transferred to the Portsmouth Police Department and had a wonderful career there, recently retiring as deputy chief of police. I have recommended GSC to individuals seeking to further their education and I shall continue to do so. It was a great experience for me.

Name: Len DiSesa
Graduated: 1989
Location: Seacoast
Degree: Bachelor of Science in Management

This is my first year back to school so I was extremely nervous about how difficult my classes were going to be for me and how I was going to pull off being a mom, an employee AND a student. But to my utter surprise and pleasure the faculty has been "mucho" patient and helpful with me, the classes have been engaging and the teachers wonderful!!! What a wonderful start Granite State has given me on the way to my greatest desire, a career! I couldn't do it without all of the great people at the Claremont branch, I just love all of you. Thanks again Granite State College for a truly rewarding first experience.

Name: Deborah Hulser
Anticipated Graduation: 2012
Location: Claremont
Degree: Associates in Behavioral Science