Showing posts with label School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label School. Show all posts

Saturday, April 30, 2016

Associates Degree

It took me 15 years, but I finally have my Associates Degree. Okay, it really didn't take that long, I just took a 14 year break in the middle. 

I wasn't going to walk because I still plan to continue my education and get my Bachelor's Degree in Accounting. But after talking with family and friends, I decided to celebrate my hard work and be a part of the ceremony. 

Two weeks before graduation, my new adviser informed me I was missing a class and wouldn't be able to walk. (This is what happens when you take a 14 year break.) It took some arguing, and I had to get the okay from the main campus in Logan, but I finally got them to agree to use an old class I took back in 2000. This issue wasn't settled until pretty much 2 or 3 days before graduation, so I was really excited when I went to pick up my hat and gown. (This issue also followed me the next semester when I tried to register for an upper division level class; but hopefully everything is set now.)

I'm glad I walked. But everything else about the night was kind of boring. We had to be there a few hours before the ceremony to line up. So I took some selfies in the hallway. It was held at the Jr. High, so my background is weird artwork that was decorating the halls. 




Dallon also graduated that night with his Bachelor's Degree in Wildlife. That's probably why I decided to walk. I knew we couldn't go watch him and have me miss out. 




It has been so much work. I couldn't have done it without Josh. Working full-time, starting a new job, and going to school all at the same time has been a lot of work and has meant a lot of sacrifice. Last year, we only went camping once. I haven't been fishing in over a year and I don't see my nephews near as often as I would like. I stress that my house is never clean and Josh jokes that he does all of the cooking. But I know that it will be worth it. With my new job, I'm already seeing the benefits and I know they will continue to grow as I finish my education. Hopefully just a few more years of hard work and then I will be finished with school. 


Monday, April 20, 2015

#MicroblogMondays: School Thoughts

Last week, I filled out an online survey for the college. Several of the questions focused on the high school years. "What inspired your during those years to pursue a higher education?" "What do you feel could have been different to help inspire you to pursue a higher education?" There was 3 or 4 questions, all very similar to that.

When this semester first started, I felt more prepared this time around. I understood the importance of all of it. I realized that I can not just put homework off until the last minute and fly through on the seat of my pants. So my response to the survey questions was "Nothing inspired me and nothing they could have done would have. Being an adult has been biggest factor."

The first time I was in college, I was also a young newly wed. I was ready to take the world by storm. Over the years, I have seen high times and low times. Nothing has prepared me for college like being an adult has. I'm more responsible now. I'm better at managing my time. I can better understand when I need to turn down something fun, so I can finish an assignment. I'm more established with my finances.

I'm not saying a young person should live a few years between high school and college. If you are able, go to college as soon as possible. Because of all the course I took many, many years ago, I nearly have my Associate's degree. I am hopeful that I'll be able to start the Accounting program this fall. 

But when it comes to life, there is no better experience than, well, life.

Since we're on the subject of school, I have to brag for a minute. I was able to wrap up my Economics class a few weeks early. My official grade isn't posted yet, but I'm confidant it will be an A (or A- at the worst). That's pretty good, considering all I hoped for was a C. I'm pretty proud of myself, but I think the best thing was listening to my husband talk to his grandpa and hearing him brag about me. (He didn't know I was listening.)

I still have two weeks left in my math class. Unfortunately, at this point, a C is what I'm hoping for. I think its party because I was so worried about my Econ class that I focused most of my energy there. But also, a person can FORGET a lot of math over the years. Seriously, I've never needed these skills over that last 13 years, and I don't foresee ever needing them again.

But despite that, I still have hopeful have good news on the math front. I thought I would have to retake a class this summer. Not because of a bad grade, but because it would line me up for the Accounting program this fall. One adviser counseled me to retake the Accuplacer test again and see if I can score well enough to skip ahead. But then, on Friday, I ran into another adviser and she suggested I take the ACT math test instead. She said it was less intense and I could get by with a lower score if I go through that route.

I agreed to try that and asked when the next test was. "Oh, in about 2 hours." Its a test they only offer once a month, so by next month it would be too late. (I need to sign up for summer semester in the next 3 weeks.) So I decided that maybe God had put her in my path for a reason and I agreed to take it. I did a Google search for ACT test preparation and studied off of it until the test. I know I didn't do perfect, but hopefully I did well enough to skip to a higher level.

You can find more of this weeks #MicroblogMondays posts HERE.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Starting in January 2015

The last few weeks have been very exciting for me. It started with a job opening where I work. I had very mixed feelings about this job in particular, so I have spent a lot of time talking with our HR department, and it has just spiraled from there.

HR mentioned that for this job, they really want an accounting degree. Then it also came up there are a few other jobs, in the company, that would also require the same degree. One of those jobs really interests me. There is no way to know when it would open up, but over the next few years, there will be a lot of retirements and a lot changes.

So I started looking at school. But its so expensive. So I went back to HR to get his opinion on a few things.

Then I thought about it some more.

Then I went back again to HR to learn more about how they help with tuition.

Then I decided to bite the bullet and meet with an adviser at the local extension of USU.

Let me back up 10-13 years ago. During high school, I took as many college classes as I could. I'm not sure how it works now, but back then, all I had to pay for was my books. My junior year, I could have graduated early; I was even engaged at this point. But I knew if I enrolled for my senior year, I could knock out several more college classes, so I did. That is why I married during my senior year of high school. I wasn't actually attending any high school classes and didn't even feel like I was a part of high school. But I wasn't not going to walk away from the chance at free college classes.

After getting married, I took a few more classes. But it got expensive and life happened. We actually moved away for a few months, and that was all it took to take the wind out of my sails. I was only 2 classes away from having my general studies complete.

Over the years, I've talked about going back to college, but it just never felt right. Money and time could just not line up together and make it possible.

So back to meeting with my adviser. I was worried I would have to start at square one. Retake Math and (gulp) English. I wasn't thrilled, but I really want my degree and am willing to do whatever it takes.

I was thrilled to learn I was wrong. I will only have to retake one class, and that's because the grade isn't good enough for me to get into the Accounting Program.

The next obstacle is figuring out where I stand on math. I have the required courses complete, but in order to get into the Accounting Program, I have to take a Math Placement Exam and achieve a certain score.

Let me tell you: a person can forget a lot of math over 10+ years. I've been known to say "Dear Math, I'm not a physiologist. Solve your own problems." Not that I hate math; its actually my favorite subject. I just have gotten lazy and let the calculator do my work for me. Its been a long time since I needed to know what "x" was.

My adviser was awesome. I actually knew her from when I did my internship there 14 years ago. She helped me work up a game plan. First on my list is to retake Econ (for the 3rd time...) and get a better grade. She told me when to apply for scholarships for spring and again for fall semesters. And she showed me where I can brush up my math skills in preparation for the test. I'm allowed to take it 3 times. After that, I have to take a math classes according to where I fall on my score.

My excuses to wait are gone. I didn't go back because I wanted to be a mother. Now that I know I won't be, I've realized I can channel that energy into my career. We used to live far from the extension, and the drive was just more than I wanted to take on. Now, we live 5 miles away. And the money? I'll take out student loans if I have to, but right now, I don't think that will be likely. We are very blessed to not have any vehicle loans right now, which frees up a lot of room in our budget, which I try to put into a savings account. I think by the time January come, I can have enough for tuition.

Its like there is now a fire in me. I used to spend all of my free time reading. Now, I'm doing math. I decided to start at the dummy level and work my way up, so I'm covering everything. I'm remembering just how much I love math. And hopefully, when the problems start throwing in "x", I will still love it.

I start classes in January and I can hardly wait. I wish I could start tomorrow. But I am worried that by the time January comes, I will have lost my enthusiasm. I wish there was a way to bottle it up and save it for later.

My interview went well, but in the end I didn't get the job. Which I was ok with. I wasn't sure I wanted it in the first place. I only applied because I had heard of others that had applied and I figured I had just as much a chance as they did. When I told Josh I didn't get the job, his response was, "I'm not sure if I should say sorry or not, because I could never tell if you wanted the job."

Now, to just save up this excitement for January...