What+the+Adults+say

These are just a few real-life stories about the college experiences of our elders. These true stories were gathered from the spring 2009 staff writers.

By Ashton Wolfe

My mother had limited resources, or though she thought when she was trying to decide on a lifetime career. She was from a low-middle class family with four children, her being the youngest. My mother’s parents did not have a college education, nor did her three older sisters. She had attended a small private school with no counselor to guide her or prepare her for college and was without parental knowledge or guidance. She had no idea what it took to enter college or even where to begin. My mother was determined though she would obtain a college education and have a profession so she could take care of herself in life.

To make things more challenging, there was no college savings of fund to help her on her journey. The tuition, books, and other fees would be completely up to her. She had to really work to understand college grants and loans, and she had no clue about scholarships. Her parents were supportive, but didn’t want her to “aim to high” for financial fears.

My mother had a friend that had enrolled in a Licenced Practical Nursing program, or LPN, at a local community college. She thought about this in the latter part of her senior year and after graduation applied for the same program, and was accepted. She felt she would enjoy nursing because she had always enjoyed helping people and this was important to her. She also knew after her LPN degree she could apply for the Associate Degree Nursing Program and become a Registered Nurse.

After graduating with honors from the LPN program she applied for the AND program and was again accepted. She went to RN school for two years during the day while working nights as a LPN. It was difficult, but she was determined to get her RN degree.

She graduated in the top of her RN class and went to work as a cardiovascular nurse in Tuscaloosa, where she stayed for ten years until she moved to Birmingham. Here she worked in the Trauma, Surgical, and Burn Unit and eventually ended up in the Heart and Vascular Center at UAB. She always had plans to go back to college, but she started a family and let time slip by. This was always an enormous regret for her. She told me that she could have done so much more with a higher degree, but she was limited in her job access due to her Associates Degree. There were greater things she wanted to accomplish and she could have attributed so much more if she had just returned to school.

My mother never regretted her decision to become a nurse. She says it has given her a life of fulfillment and reward that she could not have achieved with anything else. She says nursing is her heart and soul. She is very passionate about the medical field and only regrets not furthering her career.

My mother has always told me to reach for the stars. She encourages me to do want I want to do and says there is nothing to stop you but yourself. She has always stressed the importance of a good education to my brother and me saying if you want anything out of life you need to go to college and get it. My mother says when she was young she did not realize this and now wishes she had pursued medical school. She knows now she could have done it, and done it right!

By Alix Vinson I interviewed someone who got pregnant right before they started college. With no job and no benefits and just being able to rely on her parents, caused a lot of problems. It took her awhile to get things figured out. But she realized she could still get a good college education with a baby, she would just have to work very hard. She always knew what she wanted to do, so she stuck to her career choice. She worked on the side and provided for her baby just as her parents had provided for her. It took almost two extra years to finish school and earn her degree but she did. She wanted to just give up and quit when recieving the news that she was pregnant and she thought there was no way she could earn a college degree and raise her child. She never changed her mind one time, she knew what she wanted to do the whole time and she stuck with it. The only thing she regretted was getting pregnant it affected her life in many ways. What if she didnt have a baby? She could of spent more time concentrating on school. She never looked back on her what ifs though,and stuck by her choice.

By Benjamin Clark

The women i interviewed did not go to college. She grew up with five siblings and a family with little income. Of course, when the time came, she could not attend college. She wanted to go, and she was very smart, but the family's income just did not allow for it. She went from job to job for awhile, and finally settled down. She became a bookkeeper at a middle school, which was great because she loved kids and likes working with computers. She says she believes that she is just as happy at this job than any other college level job. This women was Rebecca Clark, aka my mom, and i am very proud of her.

By Cody Palmer I interviewed my parents, as well as a few close family friends, but my moms storys was the most informative. My mom was born in the mid '50s in a house with 3 other siblings. She didn't know what she wanted to do, but college could not be paid for. Her family did not have much money, so she worked to help her family survive. As much as she wanted a college diploma to help her in the future, she had no choice but to go straight into the workd force. At the age of 17, she began working for a company sewing clothes. She loved doing this and it is what she decided she would do for years. After a few years, she decided it wasnt what she wanted to do afterall. She wasnt happy working in a shop every day. She decided to go to school to get her CDLs and today she drives a school bus for Leeds, and also helps a few close friends with small things they need help with. Being a very social person, she loves the job she has now. She never thought she would be a schoolbus driver, but she is happier than she could imagine.--Cody P

By Arielle Cooper The mother of a friend of mine, Rachel Hughes, has been a lawyer for 25 years. She does not feel differently about any of her choices as far as college goes today. Around the age of 16, Mrs. Hughes knew what she wanted to do with her life as far as a career goes. She made this decision final when she met her husband, who encouraged her to pursue her dreams. Never once did she consider changing her mind. She finds the way courts work the most significant because everything constantly changes.

By Brandon Hicks I interviewed my mother, Terri Tice, about her college experience and what she thinks a diploma means today. My mother attended Jeff State for 2 years and later transferred to UAB. She majored in education but was later convinced to switch to sales. This turned out to be the right decision for my mother. She is now a manufacturer's rep for Tice & Associates and her business continues to grow. My mother believes a college education will make or break you. As her child, I have no other option than to graduate college. My mother chose her new major her sophomore year at UAB. My mom was basically unsure about her majors throughout college but she decided on the best one.

By Brandii Hillman Out of the three people I interviewed one out of the three went to college. One that did not attend college wishes he had so he could father his passion for landscaping he says he attend three years of college, and found it to be a waste of his time. He is perfectly happy he has a wife and two kids; he makes a food living though it is not doing what once love. if he had to again he would change anything because if he did he wouldn’t have what he has now. The second person I interviewed never had any plans to attend college. She said if she could go back in time, and go she would because she isnowhere near where she thought she would be at this point in her life. The third person I interviewed when to college and became and she is happy with her choice, she says it was a long bumpy road to get where she is now, and that she wanted to quiet many time but she’s glad she stuck with it. So college isn’t for everybody but it is for most life’s only what you make of it so make it what you want.

By Tiffany Evans My mom is the youngest out of six kids. Four girls and twin boys. The two boys did not go to college, but the four girls did. One went to Jeff State, another JSU, and one Alabama. My mom decided to go to college for self-improvement, and not just because her older sisters went. But in her decision, she had no idea what she wanted to pursue a career in. She went to Alabama A&M, but had to leave on the count of having my brother. =] But when she left, she continued her education at Jeff State. She feels that having a college degree makes her more marketable in the "job world." It also gives her a sense of accomplishment. She is very happy with her decision to attend college and stick with it. She has two degrees, and is currently pursuing her masters degree in Healthcare Administration at Strayer University. =]

By Kaitlyn Loyed I interviewed one of my cousins, Ashley. She is currently a teacher at Hilldale Christian School. I asked her when she decided to become a teacher? Ashley said, "I always knew I wanted to be a teacher, ever since I was a little girl." After graduating high school in '93 from Pinson Valley she then went to college at UAB. While she was at UAB she earned her Bachelor's of Science, Language Arts, and her Secondary education degrees. Ashley graduated from UAB in '97. Right after graduation she became a high school teacher at Hewitt Trussville, she told me it was hard teaching those grades because they were so close in age. She felt it took a long time to get respect from the students, that she actually second guessed herself about becoming a teacher. Ashley continued and by the end of her second year she had earned a reputation of being a excellent teacher and all the students loved her. Then into her third year she became pregnant with her first child, then eleven months later the second child came, and then there was a third. Obviously, her career was on hold. Asheley's new career became a stay at home mom, which she was until last year, when she went back to work as a K-5 teacher. Even with so much on her plate being a young person with a young family, she as still never gave up her dream to teach.