My first attempt at college was back before many of my fellow students were even born, 1986. My widowed mother was able to get me a full grant due to her low-paying job as a school cafeteria worker. I enrolled full-time at San Jacinto College Central Campus and promptly failed every class.
It would be great to blame that failure on my mother’s hospitalization during that semester’s finals and her death that followed 11 days later. The truth is that I had stopped attending classes well before my mother died because I was more interested in sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll than in reading, writing and arithmetic. The moment sealed my fate because I had to get a “real” job to support myself – no more fun part-time record store (what’s that?) job for me.
Fast forward through a decade of meager jobs and foolish exploits that I would rather not remember. Finally, at age 29, I decided to get my act together. It wasn’t overnight and it wasn’t easy, but I managed to create a more acceptable life.
It was during that time I met my husband. Blessed by his mother financially and ethically, as well as her wish that a family member graduate from college, we agreed that I should quit my job and go back to school.
The eight years spent at a failed attempt in court reporting school is an entire article unto itself. It wasn’t without its merits, however, because I walked away from that experience with a firm grasp on grammar, spelling and punctuation that would rival many literature majors.
Determined not to let those eight years be wasted, and the fact that it was now nearly impossible to get another administrative assistant job without a college degree, I forged on.
I graduated Magna Cum Laude from Alvin Community College and will graduate with honors from UHCL this semester. I will be the first person to graduate from college, not just in my immediate family, but my extended family as well.
I am truly blessed to have many options after graduation. A UHCL education has taught me to think outside of the box. It’s taught me that I have more to offer than just a piece of paper saying that I’m a college graduate. UHCL has given me confidence to try new things that, perhaps, go beyond my major.
The weight of the pride of many follows me up on that stage Dec. 14 to accept my diploma: friends who have been with me the entire stretch, as well as friends I have made along the way; my husband, without whose unwavering confidence I would not have made it through even one semester; and, of course, my long-deceased parents’ dreams finally coming to pass.
When you see a nontraditional student on campus, you may see wrinkles, gray hair and someone who may not know how to Tweet or Instagram. All nontraditional students have a story to tell just by virtue of the life lived on their journey to UHCL: children, spouses, failed careers, failed marriages, misspent youth, dead-end jobs, second chances, third chances. All students, traditional and nontraditional, have mentors, family and friends who have encouraged them throughout their journey. We all have one thing in common: the desire to improve our lives and gain knowledge through higher education.
