I am only in my 3rd term at Granite State College, but already feel very at home. From the first day that I stepped foot into the offices in Manchester, I was welcomed with friendly faces and had all my questions answered. I was not even planning on enrolling in GSC when I went to speak with someone in Manchester, and when I left that day, I was all enrolled in a B.A. program. Everyone I have been in contact with from financial aid to scheduling classes, has made everything stress-free for me. I love that I can get my entire degree online if I want to also!
The #1 reason why I love GSC, is their affiliation with the school district where I work (Hudson, NH), and my district will pay for some of my classes! I thought I would never see a light at the end of the tunnel, but I plan to graduate from GSC with my bachelor's degree in the Spring of 2014! From there, I hope to get a job teaching Math, and once I am settled, I will continue my education at GSC and someday receive my Master's Degree.
- Rachel
It's Christmastime, the decorations are out, the carolers are warming up, the shopping season is in full swing, and it's time to reflect on the challenges and accomplishments of the past year. If I were making a list, the first item in both the Challenges column and the Accomplishments column would be the pursuit of a Masters Degree in Project Management.
The challenge lies in the fact that I haven't been a college student in, oh, let's just say, a very long time. Not only am I enrolled in the very first graduate degree program offered at Granite State College, I am in the very first cohort scheduled to graduate in 2013. I am so proud and excited to be part of such an illustrious group of bright, dedicated and funny people...I really like this thing called adult higher education!
In the accomplishment column I proudly include the completion of the first of ten terms in the project management masters program. This term was made up of two six-week classes - PM 804 Project Management Seminar and PM 804 Leading Teams; both were excellent courses. My preferred delivery method for instruction is face to face, on the ground at our Manchester NH campus. Of course, for those of you who would rather operate completely in the digital world, you always have the option of taking any of our adult college courses online.
It is interesting now that I am immersed in the world of project management...all that we do in life is a project in one way or another. I see it all around me. The applications, tools and techniques of project management can be applied to everything from planning a holiday party to putting a man on the moon.
Now there's a thought...how might I apply what I've learned so far in my project management classes to make my holiday season just a little less stressful and a bit more organized?
Project Scope: Just what do I want to accomplish this holiday season? I certainly don't want to bite off more than I can chew so I had better define exactly what I will and can commit to this year.
Project Team: My family...who is responsible for what and can we accomplish everything we have identified in our project scope?
Project Planning: Creating a task list (work breakdown structure in project management speak) that includes all of the typical activities (cards, gifts, parties, decorations, food, etc.) around the holiday would be helpful.
Project Risk: Have you ever had your heart set on a particular gift for someone only to find the gift is not available, or that the cost exceeds your budget? Contingency plans are always a good idea.
Project Close: The holidays are over; now is the time to assess what worked and what didn't...lessons learned are a very valuable tool at the close of any project, but only if you use them.
So as you think about everything you have to do for the holidays, remember these four easy steps to help you along: plan, execute, manage and close. Wishing you a very merry and stress free holiday season!
GSC Factoid: Granite State College offers the most affordable continuing education in the state and is the University System's leading online provider.
me (well, I was speaking
of it in my last post anyway), I'll never forget another class I took through Granite State College-- a Manchester, NH college class called Humanities in the Age of Technology. I always loved the unique course selections available to me every term, excited when a crisp new course schedule would arrive in the mail, and this was no exception. Professor Jeff Haight was the instructor's name and he was really tough. But he was the best kind of tough, because his high standards, proficiency, and insistence on advanced-level learning challenged me beyond what I thought I could do. He introduced me to another genre of learning that was to become a lifelong love of mine-- philosophy. His passion for the subject made it easy to attend that weekend college class.
His was the type of course that went beyond just career training education; It was a class that provoked me to pursue questions about life and meaning and analytical thought. He introduced me to the discourses of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, exposed the class to the trial of Socrates, and taught us the concept of consilience-- the unity of knowledge.
So, yeah. Here's a shout out to you, Jeff Haight. Thank you for your teaching excellence. I won't forget it.
I recently attended the Business NH Health Care Summit in Manchester - an event and topic that interests me greatly, thanks to my role as program director of the Granite State College Bachelors degree in Health Care Management. The New England Director of the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, Christi Hager, delivered the keynote where she discussed what has transpired since Health Care Reform was introduced and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Many businesses and agencies were represented at the conference and all are grappling with the high cost of health care benefits. Small companies tend to pay 18% more in premiums than larger corporations resulting in them being a third less likely to offer insurance. The State Based Insurance Exchange will make coverage more affordable for small businesses and is slated to be available in 2014.
We learned that New Hampshire has one of the highest quality health care delivery systems in the country and has the highest rate of private insurance coverage at 72%.
A panel consisting of HR representatives from a large corporation and a small business, a physician, the president of NH Hospital Association, a representative from AARP, and someone from Harvard Pilgrim N.E. answered questions and discussed emerging trends. Health care costs have lead to a trend in companies and insurance agencies to promote wellness among their employees. These initiatives range from discounts on health club memberships, sport teams, onsite health professionals, onsite fitness centers, regular safety assessments, smoke-free workplaces, walking clubs, and preventative care, to free health coach consultations from insurance providers. The bottom line is that to control health care costs, companies need to embrace wellness programs.
How do you get started?
- Get connected with your HR department
- Form a wellness committee
- Connect with other business – find out what they’ve done and set benchmarks
- Create the infrastructure to support the initiative and promote cultural transformation
- Develop an action plan – get data- build collaboration
- Get to know your co-workers/employees
- Investigate what support your insurer may provide
- Develop partnership with local pharmacist to assist with education in the workplace
- Go to: http://healthaffairs.org/
Life is good being back in Michigan. I think dad enjoys me being around and sharing some time with him. Time is all we have; time to grow, learn, enjoy and have fun. I had so much fun going to the Manchester NH college campus and meeting new friends at Granite State College. We would laugh about our classes at times, about your essays about each other really, we were all on the same boat, we wanted our degrees and we were going forward to get it.
Those days in New Hampshire were happy days and happy memories, same as days with my dad. So if you are thinking school and getting an adult education degree is all work, think again and just do it!!
When I graduated from Granite State College in December 2010 I very much wanted to join a writer's group. I was vetted and accepted into the Seacoast Women Writer's Group. Still, something was not quite right. Then I realized what was wrong ...
I wanted a writer's group of my own.
So, while I work on my NH Teaching Certification, I am also accepting new members into my writing group called The Write Ideas writing group which meets every other Tuesday morning in Portsmouth at Barnes & Noble.
I have been inspired by every wonderful writing Instructor I have had the opportunity to work with in Portsmouth, Manchester, and Rochester through Granite State College.
Adult education and training has taken me further than I ever dared to dream I could go. But I do think it is important to give enormous consideration to the Institution you are joining and whether or not you fit in.
The reason I bring this up is because seeing two of these people (one from each 'category'), I began to run through in my head what high school was like for me. I tried to remember my teachers, how they taught, the environment, etc. A lot of my high school teachers were very strict about assignments and due dates and making sure they made NO exceptions, because they were trying to prepare us for the "real world" and for college.
Two days later:
We still have ice, schools are closed, some streets are slick and I am staying in side today to sew. I will go to work in the morning and I believe we are done with the snow at this point. I did see New Hampshire was getting some snow though. Well enjoy it as you venture out and be thankful that you all have the equipment to clear the streets and life keeps going as you know it, even in two feet of snow. Enjoy your Manchester NH Education and Career College Training as long as you can.
I have attached a link about Career Advice that may be helpful to students who are undecided about which course or academic direction they may want to take, whether they are attending classes in Rochester NH college, Concord NH college, Claremont NH college, or Manchester NH college campuses.
It is necessary to have a sense of what direction to take. Perhaps the use of a website like this one could help students decide whether they have a better aptitude for the Behavioral Sciences offered through Granite State College or maybe they are more inclined to pursue Early Childhood Education Classes there. Either way, the technology abounds to provide information when college Advisors are not available at the end of a telephone line. At least this website gives students someplace to start.
http://career-advice.monster.com/job-search/Getting-Started/Try-This-4-Year-Career-Checklist/article.aspx
Adult Education is all about independently acquiring information, skills, and success. Technology is available to also help students form questions they need to ask of their Advisors.
Why not click on this website, dip your toes in and get yourself organized for the the Fall Semester. Granite State College empowers students to ask questions and achieve answers.
My daughter and I are so much alike, yet so very different. We are both the kind of women that go all in on whatever we do. For twenty plus years I went all in when it came to raising my children, now my focus is on my adult education courses. Brittany gave her school work everything she had in high school and has since that time given all of her attention to her job. Throughout high school and after she was also heavily committed to refereeing soccer. She has traveled through the Northeast in her capacity as a professional soccer referee and has been honored as the young female referee for the state of NH. This past year she became eligible for tuition reimbursement from her employer. I was so happy for her and had hoped she would take advantage of this opportunity to get her adult college degree in her twenties instead of waiting until her forties as I did.
Brittany found a new passion this past year, Roller Derby. Needless to say I was horrified! My beautiful, classy young daughter is now a bruiser. She walks around with abrasions, black eyes and bruises all over her arms and legs. I have always supported my children in their extracurricular activities of softball, soccer, basketball, drama, etc. but this was beyond my apprehension. I love sports, I instilled the love of sports in my daughters but is roller derby actually a sport? My daughter had never been on roller skates in her life, I figured she would try it out and decide this was not for her. Boy did I ever underestimate my daughter. She started skating in October and has already become one of the better skaters in NH. She currently skates for “Skate Free or Die,” a NH roller derby organization that has just recently been accepted into the international derby association of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). 
Although I did not want to attend the bouts (games) I have because I believe in supporting my family in whatever it is they are passionate about. I have become an actual fan. This is a sport and I actually understand the game and have even come to enjoy it. It is not as brutal as I imagined although I have witnessed teammates of my daughter breaking collar bones and teeth during bouts. The physical endurance these athletes have is nothing to take for granted. They train harder than you can imagine. My daughter practices 4 times a week for up to four hours at a time. Although she has always been active in playing sports she has never transformed her body like she has by her derby training.
My daughter is only 22 years old and is loving life and her accomplishments. I had hoped she would attend college directly after high school but she chose a different path. She has succeeded in this path so I am very happy for her. Her company offered her tuition reimbursement so I had hoped she would immediately take advantage of this, but once again she has chosen a different path. Her path will lead her to become the woman she will become, to date she has made wise decisions and has done well for herself. We are so very different and have taken very different paths in our lives but we are so very similar in the fact that we chose our individual paths which will fulfill us and lead us to become the women we aspire to be.
When the time is right and my daughter is ready I have no doubt she will attain her adult college degree and thrive in the academic environment.
If you are looking for a night out of doing something different then come to a Skate Free or Die event at the JFK Coliseum in Manchester for a night of laughs, bruises and fun!
PS My daughter's derby persona is "Slick Tracy"
A few weeks ago I started getting ready for a job interview that I thought I had a pretty good chance of getting. Through the week though, I started to get nervous and a bit fearful ("what if I don't have the right qualifications?" "what if I don't get the job?") and I started to study... going through all of my notes from my previous jobs, looking up other information that I wanted to become more familiar with, and contacting people that I used to work with to ask for references. Well, at one point I had become so nervous about the interview, I half thought that I might cancel it! Funny what the mind can do.
Before I started attending college, there were a number of times through the years that I talked myself out of going back to college because of unrealistic fears... "it will take too much time" or "do I have what it takes?" Well, I can tell you that at 45 years old I started seriously pursuing a degree and it was the best thing I ever did! I attended Nashua Community College (NCC) and began experiencing what it was like to become a student. Now that I am at Granite State College pursuing my Bachelor's in Behavioral Science, I can continue using the different educational formats that I found at NCC. I can take courses at any number of sites (though I'm closest to Manchester, NH classes) and online. This is my first semester here (online), but so far the instructors have been great with providing help when requested and keeping the online discussions interesting. The online classes at Granite State College are a great way to have flexibility in my schedule.
Btw, my interview went fantastic and they may have a position opening locally in the near future. If I had given into my fears, I would not have had such a great interview nor would I have found myself traveling down this path of higher learning, a decision I am so happy that I made.
Until next time!
Mary
Embarking on an adult college education is a little like leaving the comforts of ones familiar surroundings to travel. The obstacles encountered on our way to our destination often arise from information we don't have. Often, we find ourselves dependent upon the kindness of strangers to see us to our final destination.
Most of us have experienced the ups and downs of air travel – literally and figuratively. My particular travel woes on a recent flight out of Manchester NH were not the result of flight delays but rather from not knowing that airlines stopped accepting luggage thirty minutes before flight time - the dead line I missed by two minutes!
What followed was an agonizing three and a half hour wait on standby for the next, and last, flight of the day. By the grace of wonderfully kind gate attendant, literally minutes before the doors closed, I took the only unclaimed seat.
If I thought my travel difficulties ended when I took that seat, I was mistaken. With only an hour and a half between the Manchester flight and my connection in Detroit, the pilot’s announcement (as the plane sat idling at the gate) that "we" were over the weight limit generated more than mild anxiety. The solution, he said, was to burn off fuel. So we sat, the engines revved and the minutes passed.
The pilot then backed the plane away from the gate and proceeded to take us on a tour around the perimeter of the airport. Coming to a stop at a runway, the engines revved a final time before taking off. The entire process reduced the one and a half hour layover between my two flights to less then thirty minutes. During the flight, my panic and anxiety rose, in spite of reassurances from the two men sitting on either side of me that I'd make my connecting flight.
The minute the plane landed, the man on my left pulled out his Blackberry and asked for my connecting flight’s number. In minutes, he told me what gate the flight was departing from. Now, he said, we need to know this plane's arrival gate number. If the number was a single digit, he explained, I’d have to take the tram to the next terminal and I'd more than likely miss my flight. The gentleman to my right craned his neck to see out the small window and minutes later announced "Gate A49!" Once you enter the concourse, the Good Samaritan on my right directed, turn right. Your gate is straight ahead, at the very end of the terminal. Doing the math in my head, twenty-eight gates (half on the left and half on the right), didn't seem that far.
I thanked them both for their help and raced up the ramp, turned right as instructed and raced towards gate A77. But the reality of the distance I had to cover was so different from the cold, hard math. Only half way there, time was running out. Spotting an airline attendant manning Gate A59, I stopped, gasped my name and asked her to notify gate A77 that I was almost there and continued on my way as she reached for her phone.
In a few minutes, Gate A77 was in sight and I felt a surge of relief seeing the line of people. But my relief was short lived because the line turned out to be for gate A75! It was then that I saw gate A77’s door closing.
"Wait" I yelled. "Wait!" But the door clicked shut. Turning, the attendant held up his hand, telling me to stop - or so I thought until I saw the smile on his face and realized he was telling me to take it easy. Removing the electronic key card from his pocket, he opened the door and motioned me in.
The fact that I arrived at my destination at all is a testament to the small kindnesses of strangers who crossed my path that day. If any one of them had not offered his assistance, my day would have had a different ending.
The staff and faculty at Granite State College are like those strangers who helped me reach my destination - ready to get involved, eager to be of assistance. Granite State College staff and faculty do whatever they can to insure that Granite State College students arrive at their educational destination. However, there is one difference between my Good Samaritans and Granite State College staff and faculty. By the time Granite State College students graduate, they call many of our staff and faculty "friend."
The good news is that for the most part it will be seamless for students. You will be required to sign a New Master Promissory Note (MPN) with Direct Lending, but other than that, things will remain the same in terms of how and when the aid is disbursed.
The real change will happen behind the scenes at the Adult Financial Aid office here at Granite State College. We have been working feverishly to make sure we are ready for the July 1st deadline imposed by the government.
What was the reason behind the switch you ask? The intention is to provide increased funding for federal grant programs such as the Pell Grant. Now, rather than private lenders collecting origination fees from students and using them towards their own services, the Department of Education will now take the fees charged for the Stafford loan programs and funnel it back into the Federal Grant programs.
Also, over time, the Department of Education is planning to lower the Stafford Loan Interest rates, making educational loans more affordable for students.
In order to make the process of signing the new Direct Lending MPN easier for our students, the Office of Financial Aid will be making visits to the Rochester NH College, the Claremont NH College, the Conway NH College and the Manchester New Hampshire College to assist students and answer any questions. To find out the specific times of our visits, please contact the regional centers. Also, as always, students are welcome to stop in and see us at the Concord New Hampshire College at any time.
Things sure have changed in terms of flying nowadays.
Things have changed too at GSC. The Manchester NH classes now have a new home. The campus is now housed in an old refurbished mill building. I recently had the chance to visit the campus at 195 McGregor Street. The building itself is grand, the inside is beautiful. It has fantastic old, wide plank floors and high ceilings. Huge windows make the space bright and sunny and exposed brick is everywhere. The classrooms are spacious and parking is easy. This old mill building, like the previous campus in the terminal building, is steeped in history and full of charm.
While I'm no longer a student, I will remember fondly my time at the old airport building. The planes landing and leaving were part of our classroom environment. I am a little envious though of the students who will be at the new (though very old) building as they take their adult education courses. The work and activity that once took place when this building was a bustling mill can still be felt. Now, students get to enjoy this fabulous space while achieving their academic goals!
"It’s a kind of magic...
One dream one soul, one prize
One goal...
One golden glance of what should be...
One shaft of light that shows the way...
The bell that rings inside your mind, challenging the doors of time."
Queen - It's A Kind of Magic
What was the "bell" that went off in your mind that caused you to reflect on where you were in your life and where you wanted to be?
For me, it was the birth of my third child. I loved my role of wife and mother. I had always wanted and looked forward to raising a family. But one day, as I sat feeding the youngest baby, I thought "Is this all there is? Isn't there something more?"
In high school, the St. Joseph nuns offered me a golden glance of what could be, encouraging me to consider college, but they were ahead of their time. The thinking back then (the pre Ms Magazine era) ran something like this: sending a girl to college was a waste of money because she was only going to get married and have babies. And, in my family, there was also the issue of money or rather the lack of it. I'm sure there must have been financial aid back then, or at least something similar to it, but I knew nothing about such things. In any case, it wouldn't have mattered - my paycheck was needed at home.
So, graduating from high school, I worked on Wall Street for two years, eventually marrying and moving to New Hampshire. Three children and seven years passed before the "bell rang inside my mind" as the dream of a college education reawakened. And so, the door to my future was challenged, opening just a crack. Researching adult college courses in New Hampshire, I found the School for Lifelong Learning, as Granite State College was known back then (by the time I graduated, the name had morphed into the College for Lifelong Learning).
I met with an adviser at the Manchester NH college office who shed a shaft of light that pointed the way to achieving my goal. She mapped out a plan for my Associates Degree (because, at the time, working towards a bachelor's degree seemed such a huge, insurmountable challenge) and I got to work - one part time class at a time. Over the years, the magic continued.
Meeting kindred souls, people in my adult college courses who were dealing with the same day-to-day issues as I and aspired to goals similar to mine; befriending faculty who nurtured the flame of inquisitiveness burning inside of me and who helped me to discover the wonderful world of adult learning - all of this, and more, caused a seismic shift in my perception of what the future could hold for me.
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