Reaching Full Potential In College

My friend Donna deserves to have fireworks for the rest of her life for she has truly earned them!  In June 2010 she graduate from Granite State College with a GPA of 3.93! As important as her grades are, they only give us a sliver of a glimpse into who this woman really is and where she is headed in life.

Donna fits the demographic of the typical Granite State College Adult Learner to a tee.  She has lived a life of many years previous to setting and meeting Adult College Courses; she got married, became a mother, then a step-mother, while working at many different jobs along the way.  For instance, in 1973 Donna was the first woman hired at the Hampton Toll Booth in New Hampshire. She was eventually "retired" from this position at the age of 25 because she was pregnant and "everybody would know what she had done to be in that condition."
    
As Donna continued to have children she continued to change jobs for different reasons.  In 1993 she began a degree program because the company she worked for planned to downsize. But as her children began to attend college Donna's plan was set aside money in an effort to support the ambitions of her children and to also pay their tuition.

Miracles do happen!  In 2009 after Donna's company closed its doors she was free to complete her Bachelor of Science degree at Granite State College in Rochester through the Trade Act.  With the help of her dedicated and efficient Advisor, Linda Buttrick, Donna was quickly enrolled into classes in July of 2009.

In order to graduate, Donna's ambitious goal included the completion of nine courses.  Through the Trade Act she was required to take two courses per semester which meant she had to take three courses for the last semester.

An example of Donna's Adult College Program palette includes fun courses like Software Tools and Interpersonal Communications, which she took as Online Classes for Adults.  In the Fall she took The Principles of Assessments, Introduction to Research in Behavioral Science and Sociology which was a bit more challenging for her. But lets revisit her GPA of 3.93 for a moment, which speaks to the astute characteristics of dedication and determination most adult learners already posses when they arrive at Granite State College. 

Self-determined to succeed because "failure was not an option," Donna met with Nicole McMillan in the writing lab to set up a study schedule and to make appointments to proof-read Donna's prolific works.  Once she was settled in her daily routine of good consistent study habits, Donna went on to complete every single course required of her to meet the standard qualifications for the degree she ardently pursued.

I had the wonderful honor and enjoyment of meeting Donna while we were enrolled in Professor Sparrow's course, The Principles of Assesments, Introduction to Research in Behavioral Science and Sociology.  During that time I learned about Donna's love of fiction writing which added yet another dimension to an amazing multidimensional person I will not soon forget.

Bring your creativity! Bring your diversity! Bring an insatiable appetite for the learning process and you too will fit right in.  When Donna arrived she made the learning process her own, until ultimately she reached her own seemingly unobtainable heights!

Good Luck Donna!