\u00a0My goal in life was always to get a college degree, but life seemed to keep getting in the way as a recent high school graduate in 1966.\u00a0 Family health issues required frequent trips home from college which impacted my grades.\u00a0 I flunked out.<\/p>\n
I waited my required year to re-enroll, had saved the money to pay for the next two years.\u00a0 I found myself pregnant and got married.\u00a0 I should have waited a bit longer before getting married as I lost the baby shortly after.\u00a0 That chapter of my life is a story unto itself that lasted for four years.\u00a0 During that time I was working for a large family owned manufacturing company.<\/p>\n
After a divorce, I took advantage of the company tuition program on and off for many years.\u00a0 The company, along with a local university offered a 7-year night school program geared toward working adults.\u00a0 The classes were held at the company.\u00a0\u00a0 Since I had taken night courses between high school and then, I had the required 2 years of college credit and joined the program.\u00a0 I told myself it would not take the allowed 7 years to complete.\u00a0 All but one year of my college was paid for by the company.\u00a0 I only had to pay for books.<\/p>\n
During the next 7 years, I worked full time, got married and had 2 children.<\/p>\n
Classes were held for four hours one or two nights a week from 6 to 10 pm.\u00a0 In the beginning classes were at the company, but as people dropped out of the program it became too small to have classes there, so I attended at the main campus about 20 minutes from home.\u00a0 I found this very easy to accomplish as I had a very willing husband who took my education seriously.\u00a0 I was taking a full course load of 12 hours.\u00a0 Classes ran for four weeks and I did one class a month, very intense but over very quickly.<\/p>\n
The thing that made this easy for me was having a partner that was willing to make mac and cheese with peas and carrots dinner for himself and the kids.\u00a0 That\u2019s the only thing the oldest thought he could make so that\u2019s what she asked for every week.\u00a0 He is actually really a good cook when given the opportunity.<\/p>\n
He also was willing to watch the kids when I needed to meet with students outside of class for projects.<\/p>\n
When I studied, he would take over all aspects of child care, from diapers to baths and everything in between.\u00a0 I never came home to a mess and he did more than I expected.<\/p>\n
While it did take me the full 7 years, I did graduate with honors and 3.75 GPA.\u00a0 It took me a total of 21 years to graduate from college and the full support of my husband during the last seven years. \u00a0\u00a0My two children, then five and two, attended graduation. \u00a0A good support system is essential to success as a working, college student, mom.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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