Trials and triumphs of a middle aged student

 About three years ago, I woke up to the realization that MY life had changed. My oldest daughter had graduated high school, found a great job and was supporting herself in a small apartment just down the road. My youngest daughter was finishing up her junior year in high school, getting her license and not only needed less of my time and attention but begged for it! I had advanced at work to a position that allowed me to only work a second job two nights a week to support my household. That was the day I decided I could and would start college. That was the day my life took a huge change for the better. I immediately started researching my options and quickly found Granite State College to offer everything I was looking for; online classes for college, part time classes,  Manchester NH Classes, Concord NH classes as well as college evening classes. Now, here I am three years later preparing to graduate in June with my adult college degree, a Bachelor of Science in Business Management.

 My time here at GSC has been both challenging and rewarding. My studies have impacted both my professional and personal life in a very positive way. My knowledge, confidence and abilities have grown exponentially. I took on the role of GSC University System Student Board (USSB) Representative for the current academic year. In this position I have had the opportunity to become involved in the governance of the New Hampshire University System and it has broadened my understanding of the business side of academics. I have found myself comfortable in the role of advocate for my fellow students and our New Hampshire State College, GSC.

 Now it is time for another new challenge; blogging! I am excited about venturing into the foreign world of blogging. I hope to use this opportunity and forum as an effective tool to communicate with the students, staff and faculty of Granite State College. I look forward to sharing my life and my college experiences with all of you.

                                                2010                                2009                       Variance         

Cholesterol                         165 mg/dl                            212 mg/dl            47 mg/dl Favorable

Triglycerides                         79 mg/dl                             157 mg/dl           78 mg/dl Favorable

HDL Cholesterol                  54.2 mg/dl                            49 mg/dl             5.2 mg/dl Favorable

LDL Cholesterol                   95 mg/dl                             132 mg/dl            37 mg/dl Favorable

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"

I applied for my first passport two years ago but did not have the courage to use it until now.  Attaining my adult college degree has definitely raised my confidence level in myself in every way.  I took a global perspective art class, “World Architecture” during my freshman year at Granite State College.  This was my first of many college evening classes and my first face to face experience at GSC.  I LOVED the class.  Professor Pook was amazing.  He had a real passion for both teaching and architecture, not to mention for writing.  I learned more about writing from him than I did any other professor in my entire undergraduate career.  I also gained a true enthusiasm and eye for architecture.  With my newly attained adult college degree and my excitement for architecture I have found the courage and interest to travel to Ireland with my daughter next month.  How cool is that?

I promise to share my photos and travel diary with you all when I return from this trip of a lifetime.

I completed my business major capstone last semester at Granite State College and loved it.  The course required us to work in teams, one of my worst fears in a school project!  As teammates we worked together as co-managers of a camera company competing with the other teams for market share within the simulated camera industry.   What made this experience unique was that the decisions each team made changed the market and affected business decisions and strategy initiatives we all made.  This class was certainly a true career opportunities education course.  This was a great exercise in working together as a team to accomplish the goal at hand.  I have always loved playing games, but this was a game that enabled me to utilize all of the business skills I had attained in my adult education courses.  I learned so much and had a ton of fun in the process.

The most difficult part of starting college after being out of school for many years is not the admission process, not the financial aid paperwork, not the entrance exams, it is finding the confidence in oneself to believe you can learn and grow in the academic world.  It is so very difficult when you are doing relatively well in your life to put yourself into a position where you feel vulnerable to failure.  When I finally found the courage to pursue my adult college degree I did so by attending online classes for adults where I thought I would be protected and could hide my inadequacies from my fellow classmates.  After my first semester of adult college classes I found my confidence and was able to really put myself out there and start attending live evening college courses.  I have not stopped since I started three years ago.  I not only found my confidence, I found a true love of learning and applying this knowledge in everything I do.

My success, my enjoyment and my overall academic experience has now tweaked the confidence in those around me to also pursue their adult education diplomas.  My own 22 year old daughter is now talking about beginning classes to attain her degree.  As a mother, I could not be more thrilled.  Another person I have influenced is a friend from work.  She has accomplished so much more than I professionally but still doubts her ability to thrive in the classroom because she claims she did not do well in high school, some 35 years ago.  She is not the same person she was at the age of 17.  She is bright, ambitious and well grounded.  I was shocked to hear of the fear she felt in not believing she has what it takes to attain her adult college degree.  I have no doubt she will thrive and excel in this pursuit.

Where are you in your life?  Do you have the courage to go after your adult college degree?  All you need to do is find the courage it takes to visit Granite State College and the confidence in yourself will soon follow.
 

I was honored to be asked to speak at this year’s Granite State College induction ceremony of the Alpha Sigma Lambda honor society members over the weekend.  I was thrilled to recognize so many faces of fellow classmates from Concord NH classes as well as seeing the faces for the first time of classmates from online classes for college amongst the inductees.  It is one thing to have your parents share in such an honor but it is a totally different experience to have your parents, spouse and children share in the celebration of one’s accomplishments along the way of attaining their adult college degree.  I became teary eyed as those I knew, and those I had never before met, accepted their pins and spoke of their gratitude and love for the family members that have supported them in their pursuit of academic excellence.  Most everyone present had parents, siblings, grandparents, and children in attendance. 

There was one classmate, or more adequately identified as a friend, who’s teenage son nearly knocked over a row of chairs in his quest to get pictures of the mom he was so proud of.  Another friend’s adult sibling ran up to the stage unconcerned with blocking the view of the audience to assure he got the pictures he wanted of his sister in her proud moment of being pinned into the honor society.  I could not help but notice the pride, love and admiration of the wife of a fellow online classmate and acquaintance of mine.  This woman beamed as her wife accepted the honor and thanked God for the opportunity.

The 37 students inducted into the Honor Society this past weekend were all the “meat” in pride sandwiches.  They had the love, support and pride from the generation above, their parents, and from the generation below, their children.  There simply is not a better tasting sandwich than this!

Congratulations to all of this year’s inductees.