Julie Kluth
After a twenty five year absence I have returned to college to achieve a long held dream, to work toward and receive a Bachelor of Science Degree. I know that by having a degree in hand I will be able to go farther and earn better wages than I have previously.
Returning to college has also helped me to act as a mentor for my two college age children. I have also found fulfillment and a sense of purpose by returning to college. What really made all of this possible are online classes. When I graduated from high school in 1982 I began my college career. At that time I was attending community college and working full time. When I met my future husband and we opened our own business, it became apparent that I would have to give something up. There were not enough hours in the day to complete all I needed to do. Unfortunately, I gave up on my education.
After my husband died of Kidney Cancer two years ago, I took up my passion for education and re-enrolled in college. While I have taken several classes at the college in a classroom setting, I find that my schedule fits best around online classes. They allow me to work at my convenience instead of locking me into a classroom for 3 hours an evening. I have the ability to do laundry while I am watching a PowerPoint presentation online. I can be interrupted by my children and resume work when their problem is solved.
I have been in the Credit and Collections profession for the last nine years and have found that I want a change of career. While my pay is adequate, I am not passionate about my current employment. I have always wanted to go into the field of Psychology and have found my niche with Industrial and Organizational Psychology. I can bring my expertise of the corporate world to my love of working with people. I hope I will be able to make a difference in an employee’s life and help them to find their passion in their job.
Online classes are making this dream a possibility for me to pursue. Online classes will be partly responsible for any success I achieve and help I am able to give another human being. My daughter’s have watched me complete my online classes and been fascinated by the formats used and the ability to learn at your own pace. Both of my children are now taking online classes for themselves and find that they are learning more in a shorter amount of time. We have also discovered that the feedback we receive from instructors and teachers is quicker and more constructive. I have shown my daughters that if their old Mom, who works fulltime and keeps house, can go to school and be successful at 45 years old, then it is possible for them at 17 and 19 years old.
Life has a way of throwing up roadblocks and making us change our course. I am a living example of a woman who has been through the worst of times, but somehow comes out stronger on the other side. To be a widow at the age of 43 was not my plan, but then to give up college was not my plan either. I now find so much peace, satisfaction, and fulfillment by attending college and it is the availability of online course that have opened the window of a degree for me.