Lebanon NH College

• Modern America & the Movies
• Readings in World Literature
• American Sign Language I
• Managing Conflict
• Introduction to Anthropology

• Career Development and Life Planning
• Survey of World Architecture
• Autobiography as Literature
• Comparative Religions
• Observational Astronomy

With this time of year comes family and celebration and a quiet reflection of the year gone by.  It is important to be aware of the things we would have done differently to avoid mistakes of the past.  But above all, this is a time to give thanks for the blessings in our lives.  As adult college students, it is easy to be bogged down in the extra time we spend reading, studying and writing at our Lebanon NH college.  Here is what I am thankful for. 

I am thankful for my family.  Everyday I think about what wonderful people I have closest to me.  My son makes me smile everyday and brings me the most satisfaction I have ever felt.  His sister Ashlee makes me so thankful for new beginnings.  Parents of teenagers can be as difficult to get along with as teenagers themselves.  Our relationship has improved so much in the last year, and the feeling is so sweet.  His sister Emilee still seems to be the human embodiment of the famous theater symbol of the comedy/tragedy mask.  She can be so good one minute and so...so...Emilee the next.  But a great kid nonetheless.

I am thankful for the company I work for.  Hypertherm is a wonderful company, and not just because they are paying for me to go to college.  We consistently rank as one of the top companies to work for in NH, are employee owned and have great benefits and a lucrative profit sharing program.  I have been there for nearly 13 years and expect at least that many more.

I am thankful to Granite State College for providing the opportunity to finally attain the most important goal of my life: to earn my bachelor's degree.  This adult accelerated degree program makes my experience so worthwhile and fulfilling.  I cannot believe I waited this long to start my journey again, but what is important is that I am here, chipping away.  My life has improved dramatically because of my time spent here with my career advancement education.

Here at Granite State College - Connecticut Valley Region, we are thrilled to share the news that another of our talented faculty members has recently published a book. 

Sara Poisson, who is a mental health and substance abuse clinician for a half-way house, authored Silent Voices of the Past: A Chronicle of the Almshouse of Sullivan County.

 

"I noticed a small cemetery on the grounds at the county jail where I work ... The reason it caught my eye was because each of the stones in the back half of it were uniform in size and not buried according to family but by chronology. This became the beginning of a research project that lasted about 18 months. [It] was a joint project between the inmates at the jail and myself to find out who these people were and why they were buried here. What we learned was this spot was the location of the almshouse for the county. We discovered who was here, why and how the institution evolved and ended. There is a strong parallel between the throw away members of society during the almshouse era and the inmates in the county jail today. The challenges are greater, the stigma more negative and the stakes higher for both populations. My plan was to impart a sense of self-worth for the inmates by seeing that the almshouse population mattered. It matters who is buried here and why. They are entitled to the same dignity as any other member of the society. The same is true for the inmates. If they don't understand that, if they don't respect themselves, they are doomed to repeat their mistakes. I have long since been a champion for the underdog. My career has been working with underprivileged children and families, domestic violence survivors and the incarcerated population. My husband and I have a rescue center for abandoned and abused farm animals."

Strike the iron while its hot.

Make hay when the sun shines.

Our language is full of phrases that express the best time to go for an opportunity, which is when things are going the best for you.  There is a lot of wisdom to these sayings, because when the dominoes are falling the right way, our attitude is in the right place.  With the right attitude come positive thoughts and actions, so it easy to move on to your next challenge with the confidence and tools that you have picked up along the way for success.

But if there were never tough days, there would never be good days.  In my initial blog post, I talked about being recognized as a smart guy, but as I climbed within the organization at work, I seemed to hit a glass ceiling at a certain point.  I remember the day well.  I applied for a new position in Customer Training that attracted 65 other applicants.  After many rounds of interviews and mock presentations, the job came down to myself and one other applicant.  The hiring manager asked the both of us to make one more presentation to help him decide who to hire.  After this bonus presentation and so many interviews, he expressed to me how he believed either one of us would be great for the position, so he decided to let his decision be made by who looked best on paper.  He told me that my lack of a degree was one less box checked for me, and thus was the deciding factor in me not getting the job.  Of course this was meant to cushion the blow, but still I was crushed.

That was the day I decided that my lack of a career college training would never be used as a reason not to hire me ever again.  Out of the despair of this news, I gathered myself and reapplied to Granite State College to take part time classes.  Rejection was fuel for the fire; the fire still burns. 

I still work for that great company, and I look forward to the next opportunity that comes my way to share my strengths and talents, combined with the education I am shaping and receiving at my Lebanon NH College.  My day to make hay is coming!

Part of my self-imposed responsibility of blogging for Granite State College is sharing my individual experience with readers.  I believe I have many of the same concerns and fears that other current and prospective GSC students may have regarding aspects of college life as an adult, so as I share mine, you may find you relate, or the gumption to try something new. 

I recently blogged about alternative course delivery options that my Lebanon NH college has, and in the spring term that I just completed, I took a five week intensive class.  I had lots of questions going into this class, such as...where would I find time to take a class in five weeks that required the same amount of material be learned as a 12 week class? 

In all honesty, this was a bit of a challenge.  Each week of class required reading a chapter in our text book (not out of the ordinary for any class, regardless of intensity), but we also had to take two quizzes per week, write an essay paper each week, write a longer paper for the end of term, as well as the standard discussion board participation required when you take college classes online.  As I learned in the economics class I took a year ago, every decision we make requires a trade off: if I get out if bed in the morning, I will miss sleep.  But I will also lose my job, so I make the decision to get out of bed.  Sure, taking a class with this much work did create some pain in my life, but it also allowed me to shorten the length of time I spent studying, which ultimately was the big payoff.  I am taking two classes per term until I earn my Bachelor's Degree, so for the first seven weeks of the term, I only was taking one class, which allowed me to focus more time on other important parts in my life, like spending time with my son and working out.

The class I took was called Comparative Religions.  This was a great opportunity to learn about the major religions of the world, as well as how locally spirituality is experienced.  New England consistently rates in the bottom of the country when surveyed about church attendance, so when a requirement of this class had me visiting a house of worship, it will be no surprise to you that this was my first visit to a church in over eight years.  It has been said that college is not only a great avenue for career advancement programs, but also has the distinction of giving people a different view of the world through giving them a well-rounded education.  In this case, my view has taken a dramatic turn because I found a church to visit that spoke to my heart so much that I have become a regular member.  That was not the intention of the class, and my grade was not impacted by my decision, but if not for college, I never would've considered attending, much less joining a church. 

Whether trying something new for you means taking a five week intensive class or challenging yourself to try something frightening and different, the experience is what makes the journey so valuable.  Live life.