While most people look forward to a relaxing life post-retirement, Clarence Hammonds was not content sipping coffee on a sunny porch browsing through his memoirs. At 73, he was busy pursuing a bachelor's degree in political science from San José State. "I enjoy learning," says the 1998 graduate. "As an educated person I can talk to you about sports, psychology, politics, history, music … just about anything that interests you. Education broadens your mind and I don't think age should get into the way."
Returning students are a distinct minority—a mere 0.45 percent of the entire student body—but they add a unique element of diversity to an already diverse campus. They range in age from the late 30s to the late 70s, come from all realms of the professional world, and have different motivations to keep them going.
A student at the University of Maryland in College Park, Ray Kiddy was majoring in computer science in 1988 when he abruptly dropped out. "Back then, you did not need a degree to work in computer science, so while work got more interesting, classes started getting less interesting," he recalls. "Even though I'm not really motivated by money, it was nice to get a paycheck." At 25, Kiddy was making good money at Apple and didn't see any value in a degree, but two decades later, he feels differently. "I wish I had stuck with it. In looking back that seems such a small thing to do, given what I have done to make up for it," he says. "I've worked with people 10 years younger than me who are in the same place I am … I want to be able to move forward. And I want to finish what I started." A math major, Kiddy hopes to graduate from SJSU by the end of this year.
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| Retired AT&T marketing manager Jerry Mc Clory, 60, says you have a different appreciation for school when you come back on your own terms. |
Marilyn Early came back to school looking for a career switch. Following in her father's footsteps, Early got a bachelor's in civil engineering from Stanford in 1980, but after a brief stint in the field, she realized she wasn't cut out for construction management. A stay-at-home mom for the last 25 years, Early raised four children and never thought about going back to school. Not until fall 2007. "I could have been a teacher a long time ago, but I didn't know any better," says the 49-year-old, now pursuing her teaching credential from SJSU. "As a kid going to college, you're not sure which direction to follow … you don't know yourself well enough to know whether you'll be happy doing this forever. But as an adult, I've got so many more experiences to look back on and evaluate myself. I can see where I was happy and what I will be happy doing for the next 20 years."
At the other end of the spectrum is Jerome Mc Clory, who is pursuing a marketing degree just to learn more about the field he worked in for the last 15 years of his career. "Now I understand why we did what we did as a company," says the 60-year-old retired AT&T marketing manager. "It's answered a lot of questions." Despite being a President's Scholar, Mc Clory is so relaxed that he is not even keeping track of his academic units. "That isn't my most pressing issue," he says. "This is leisure for me … and it keeps my mind sharp."
But is it easy for these 'old-timers' to sit in a class with 18-20 year-olds? "Going back to school is an emotional risk," says Blair Whitney, '07 Political Science. "People feel like they're old, overweight, and don't fit in … I felt those same things in my first class, but slowly I realized that nobody was looking at me—they were busy trying to write down what the instructor was saying. So, the barriers are mainly psycholog-ical and if you can get over the intimidation, you warm up to the college environment."
Once they do start feeling comfortable, returning students demonstrate that they are not a shy bunch. "You have a real different appreciation for school when you come back on your terms. And that just takes away the pressure," says Mc Clory, 60. "The teachers are all either my age or younger, so I have a different rapport with them. I don't have a problem speaking up when I don't understand something or initiating a discussion in those really quiet classes."
Kiddy adds that traditional students don't realize the value of being ignorant. "In the rest of life you have to pretend that you know everything about what you're doing and why you're doing it," he says. "If you want a chance to be able to do something in the real world, you have to be competent at it first, which doesn't always happen, so you pretend. But at school, you can be ignorant and it's okay, you can ask questions and it's okay."
Kathy Burden, '07 Public Relations |
Kathy Burden, 47, says she has had to be careful not to become the mom in group projects, though. "I realize that I needn't become the manager of the team just because I'm older," says the '07 public relations graduate. "I have something to learn from my younger classmates, too. They are way ahead of me in technology and they don't need beginner classes in computers like I do … they're just on it."
However, returning students bring their fair share of life experiences to enrich the classroom. "I remember students sitting up in a class when I said that I'd met Dr. Martin Luther King," recalls Hammonds. "I became their connection to history."
And putting in 20 to 30 hours a week, these non-traditional students are nothing if not committed. Sometimes, they go overboard. "Right before my third year, I discovered I was pregnant," recalls Kristen Merriman, '04 Physics. She asked her doctor to induce labor over Thanksgiving so her daughter's birth would not interfere with finals. "After a lot of pleading my doctor finally agreed to induce labor the Friday before the last week of school," says Merriman. "I had a takehome quantum physics test that weekend, which I ended up completing in the hospital and my mother dropped it off on Monday." The following spring semester she spent juggling classes and motherhood. "My dad used to meet me on campus every Tuesday and Thursday at noon to walk the baby around while I attended classes," she says. "Somehow, I managed to graduate with honors."
Supportive family members are key. "I always told my kids that I would go back to school," remembers Councilwoman Judy Chirco who earned her degree in 1994 at age 47, after dropping out of college as a junior to raise a family. "My older son kept me accountable. When he was 11, I decided to return to school after nine and a half years. The fear of failure was tremendous but graduating was the most liberating and empowering experience."
Add to family support the encouragement from faculty members and you have a fool-proof recipe for success. "At home when you work hard, nobody notices," says Burden, a mother of two teenagers. "But here your work is acknowledged and it makes you think, 'Yes, I can do this!'"
Returning students say the value of a degree is not limited to getting a good job. They also come here to expand their horizons. "Any university from Harvard to San José State simply gives people the opportunity to better prepare themselves for whatever comes next," says Blair Whitney, '07 Political Science. "It doesn't guarantee you that along with the diploma comes the wisdom and the knowledge and the ability to handle everything— sometimes you learn a vocational skill set that immediately translates to the workplace, but most of the time you're learning life skills."
Summing up the value of his college degree, Whitney could be speaking for many: "I was in the reserves and 9/11 happened—nothing at San José State could have prepared me for it. There are different things in life … marriages, divorces, births, deaths, promotions, being passed over, downsizing—all that stuff happens. No one particular elective prepared me for any of that, the whole course of my stay at SJSU didn't prepare me for that, but altogether the university experience made me better equipped to cope and manage my life."
—Mansi Bhatia
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