My first crack at college life was anything but idyllic. No strolling the quad, no Frisbee on the common with the buds. Just plain work! All classes were face to face then and at night. Back then, Distance Learning Universities meant you had a long drive to class! I was working day shift at the PD, prosecuting cases in court and studying by night. My work was intellectually challenging, but that made school work even more so, I only have so many active brain cells!
Along with the schedule, there were the finances. To qualify for federal financial aid you had to carry a part time class load which meant at least two classes a semester. This had me out of the house two nights a week and studying the remainder. There were even times, because of the emergency work I did, where I would have to leave class due to a robbery, burglary or other dilemma. Not an easy road, but who said college was supposed to be easy?
I did start to make headway towards my college degree, got my first official college "A", and my first migraine headache from all the STRESS!!!!! Ahh the good old days. The quality of the classes was, and still is, first rate. My mind was opened up to a lot of new and meaningful concepts particularly in management. I carried on for 2 years and then life began to take it's toll. I couldn't carry the part time student class load, which meant I would have to pay as I went. This got expensive on a cop's salary. In 1992 I took a break from formal classes. Although I had learned a lot, and was applying that knowledge at work in my position as a Sergeant, the dream of a college degree was still just that, a dream. I wondered if with all life was throwing at me, would I ever finish what I started and have a degree?
Next: My return to the all new GSC!
Along with the schedule, there were the finances. To qualify for federal financial aid you had to carry a part time class load which meant at least two classes a semester. This had me out of the house two nights a week and studying the remainder. There were even times, because of the emergency work I did, where I would have to leave class due to a robbery, burglary or other dilemma. Not an easy road, but who said college was supposed to be easy?
I did start to make headway towards my college degree, got my first official college "A", and my first migraine headache from all the STRESS!!!!! Ahh the good old days. The quality of the classes was, and still is, first rate. My mind was opened up to a lot of new and meaningful concepts particularly in management. I carried on for 2 years and then life began to take it's toll. I couldn't carry the part time student class load, which meant I would have to pay as I went. This got expensive on a cop's salary. In 1992 I took a break from formal classes. Although I had learned a lot, and was applying that knowledge at work in my position as a Sergeant, the dream of a college degree was still just that, a dream. I wondered if with all life was throwing at me, would I ever finish what I started and have a degree?
Next: My return to the all new GSC!
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