I took an eleven year path to finish my undergraduate degree.
I spent the first four years not really sure why I was there... and as a result, did well in classes I liked and terrible in classes I didn't like... my maths record is particularly ignoble.
After four years of accumulating no where near enough credits to graduate, the financial support was gone and I had to leave school. I got a job and started trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. After a few years, I thought I'd like to be a teacher, so I went back to school... first to community college to raise my overall GPA back up to a point where I could transfer back into the university system.
My second time in college I had to work full time (and more) and was limited in the load I could carry, so it took me more years to finish.; but this time I was much more focused and on why I was doing it and was correspondingly more successful.
After completing my undergraduate and earning a teaching credential I ended up in my dream job....
“The vast majority of my students came from poor homes, often with similar situations to my own. For many, even the idea of a collegiate education was a fantasy. It simply wasn’t on the table.” Truth, truth, TRUTH!!! I was the librarian at a high-poverty (95% FRL) public K-5 in North Carolina for ten years and my kids, about 45% urban Black, 45% rural white, and a growing Hispanic population, believed the same. I’m a first generation college student, BS, Ed and MLS, but there was never a question about going to college, it was expected. My kids, though... I encouraged them all the time to graduate from high school, while teaching them how to use their library, how to following instructions by playing games, and coding on their school iPads. I told them they could get good jobs doing all these things, and talked about community college. I was forced into retirement, because librarians are expensive and can easily be replaced by somebody’s mom. I miss my kids, too.
I took an eleven year path to finish my undergraduate degree.
I spent the first four years not really sure why I was there... and as a result, did well in classes I liked and terrible in classes I didn't like... my maths record is particularly ignoble.
After four years of accumulating no where near enough credits to graduate, the financial support was gone and I had to leave school. I got a job and started trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. After a few years, I thought I'd like to be a teacher, so I went back to school... first to community college to raise my overall GPA back up to a point where I could transfer back into the university system.
My second time in college I had to work full time (and more) and was limited in the load I could carry, so it took me more years to finish.; but this time I was much more focused and on why I was doing it and was correspondingly more successful.
After completing my undergraduate and earning a teaching credential I ended up in my dream job....
There are many paths in life.
Thanks for sharing your story. I am in awe of anyone with a PhD, which makes your perseverance all the more remarkable.
“The vast majority of my students came from poor homes, often with similar situations to my own. For many, even the idea of a collegiate education was a fantasy. It simply wasn’t on the table.” Truth, truth, TRUTH!!! I was the librarian at a high-poverty (95% FRL) public K-5 in North Carolina for ten years and my kids, about 45% urban Black, 45% rural white, and a growing Hispanic population, believed the same. I’m a first generation college student, BS, Ed and MLS, but there was never a question about going to college, it was expected. My kids, though... I encouraged them all the time to graduate from high school, while teaching them how to use their library, how to following instructions by playing games, and coding on their school iPads. I told them they could get good jobs doing all these things, and talked about community college. I was forced into retirement, because librarians are expensive and can easily be replaced by somebody’s mom. I miss my kids, too.