Getting a degree at 53: My long and winding road at university
A university degree wasn't part of my plans when I was young. Life, though, is full of surprises
A university degree was never on my To Do List.
It wasn't on my Nice To Do List.
It wasn't on my Bucket List.
And yet, here we are. If you whacked me with a frozen cod, you couldn't wipe the smile off my face.
I graduated from journalism school in 1987, in the heyday of the Robinson-Blackmore newspapers. Graduates were in demand, hired before we donned cap and gown and marched across the stage.
If memory serves, most of our class walked out of the former Bay St. George Community College, made our respective way to a small town, sat at computers, and started typing.
Simpler times.
In the short-term, it's all about enjoying the moment. Despite COVID-19, we will enjoy the moment.
I left the Western Star newspaper in 2000, opting for contract work and freelance writing. Six years later, I interviewed for a position at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College.
The job competition was narrowed to two candidates: I had the experience, she had the bachelor's degree. They said if I did a marketing course, I could have the job.
It had been a while since I started courses. My student number starts with 0084, the year I finished high school.
I didn't have an academic epiphany, but I enjoyed the course, and started working toward a bachelor of business administration. I did well, until I hit the math portion of our regularly scheduled program.
Failing the math placement test in spectacular fashion, I signed up for a math fundamentals course, twice. Tutoring didn't help. BEDMAS (brackets, exponents, division, multiplication, addition, subtraction) wore me down.
A devastating turn leads to a new door
Undeterred, I turned to education. Teaching adults became my heart's desire, until I realized studying did not fit with working full time, a busy child, a work-away husband and various extracurricular activities.
My underdeveloped teacher heart cracked just a little. In 2012, after six years of courses, I decided to take a hiatus from higher learning.
When I lost my permanent job nine months ago, I had no idea what to do with myself. Sudden unemployment, for the first time in 33 years, was devastating.
I walked, a lot. I hiked, every chance I got. I wrote short stories. I applied for job, after job, after job, and was screened out. I cried with each rejection. Perhaps not having a bachelor's degree was part of the reason I didn't get interviews. Maybe it was the market. It could be my expectations were too high.
Determined to level the playing field, I requested an audit of all my varied university courses. I challenged for credit. I applied for a prior learning assessment. I reapplied for admission to Memorial University.
School was tangible, something I could pour myself into. I went at it with a vengeance.
Sense of achievement
Fast-forward to this month. I was wandering around the house on May 11, talking to the dog and wildly procrastinating, when an email from Memorial University flung itself into my inbox.
I read it once, twice, three times. I printed the email and studied it.
I waited 14 years for a university degree, and then I waited three hours before I told my family. I figured MUN would withdraw the letter. In 2020 anything is possible … maybe it's a COVID-19 thing.
And so, here I am. I have a degree, and it's a pretty cool feeling. Achieving the bachelor of education at 53, with a sound mind and a solid grade point average, brings a sense of achievement.
It's something I did for myself, albeit with a lot of family support, and the help of some pretty awesome professors. There were tears along the way, some frustration, and a wide learning curve. When you've been trained to write concise news stories, it's difficult to wrap your head around composing an academic paper.
My lifelong-learner self hasn't planned beyond the creative writing course currently capturing my imagination. That bachelor of business administration remains unfinished business. I may consider a master's program.
In the short term, it's all about enjoying the moment. Despite COVID-19, we will enjoy the moment.
On Thursday evening at 7, Memorial University will host a Facebook Live event recognizing the graduates of 2020. You can bet that frozen cod I will be watching.
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