| The Life Time Learning Process By Coleen Mitchell This week as I stood out front of the Liacorras Center located at Temple University I was surrounded by a sea of cap and gowns. As I made my way through the crowd I experienced several emotions. The first was regret, having never graduated from a college. The second was hope, as I looked beyond the cap and gowns to see not only youthful faces, but also the face of the mature adult, complete with graying hair and laugh lines. The final and most strongest emotion was pride, as I would watch my mother graduate today. My Mom, forty years after graduating from high school, was graduating with her B.S.N. in Nursing. She is also the first in our family to graduate with a college degree.To some this may not appear as a big accomplishment, but I know better. This degree represented not only academic acomplishment, but also sacrifice and dedication to the level that others would have given up long before. I had one of the best seats in the house, as her daughter, watching this accomplishment unfold. At age 31, a single parent with 4 kids( ages- 11, 10, 8 and 6) her journey began. Receiving no financial support from my father and struggling to maintain a home with us in a rental property, she was offered a scholorship to get her L.P.N. licence. During this year of school she met resistance from all different sources. The man she was dating, felt threatened by her advancement, offered her no support, and at one time tried to throw her books away. The Catholic school which we attended did not feel it was "proper" for her to be going to school and "neglecting" her responsibilty as a parent. As one of her children, I can tell you, we were no picnic either. Despite these adversites, 1 year later, she graduated with her L.P.N.. Upon graduation my Mother began working night work at a local hospital. It wasn't until I was 18 that she began to go back for her associates degree in nursing. She took courses alittle at a time at a local high school and college, to get the needed prerequisites. She then took an accelerated degree program with the local community college, and 1 year from starting that program, she graduated with her Associates degree in nursing. Most would have been happy with that accomplishment, but not my mother. Mom then began the longest stretch of her journey, the B.S.N. accelerated nursing program sponsored by the community college and Temple University. This program took 4 years to complete part time. It required a two night a week commitment. At a time in her life where all her children were out of the house, instead of traveling the world, my mom went back to school. During this time she learned the ins and outs of a Personal Computer too. Flash forward to today, as I am soon approaching my 38 birthday, 27 years from the start of this journey. I frantically went through the crowd, hoping to see my Mom before she filed into the auditoruim, with flowers in one hand and my camera in the other, I finally found her. She was amongst some of her classmates, some of whom were wearing a purple tasseled rope around thier neck. I asked her what the rope meant, and she told me they were Magna Cum Laude recipents. Which meant they held a 3.6 GPA or better during school. I then asked her what was her GPA. She told me 3.69, but could not get that status because some of her credits were not from Temple University. I could see she was disappointed by this and it saddened me. Then I realized that Temple University or any other institution could never come up with a tassled rope that would be suitable to be worn around my Mother's neck. If they did it would certainly out shine all the others. This rope would have to not only represent academic excellence, but also a P.H.D. in how to handle life gracefully. Mom, you did well. Only a few would be able to shoulder the challenges you met head on through this journey of life time learning. Now enjoy the rewards of your success. You have earned it. |
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