Of Course, Adults Should Go To School!

I was recently honored by Phi Theta Kappa and named to the All-Massachusetts Academic Team. It was a very special moment to be joined by my family at the Massachusetts State House and have the President of my college salute me, present me with a beautiful certificate and then hang a medal on a ribbon around my neck. My sons were proud of my accomplishments but also took great delight in pointing out that I seemed to be one of the oldest students there. They were absolutely correct and I am okay with that.

Some people pursue a very traditional collegiate route. Immediately upon graduation from high school, they attend college like they are "supposed to." Some people drop in and some people drop out. Some take an extended break and then forget to go back. Plenty of people join the work force or start families and find that college is just not working out in their schedule. And at some point, many look around and ask themselves if they should go back. My answer to them is a resounding, YES!

As a more mature student, I find that I certainly have a lot more in common with my professors than many of my fellow students. Perhaps, it is a lifetime of professional experience and personal challenges which make me appreciate the knowledge being imparted. My younger classmates may start the semester by jokingly, or pejoratively, dubbing me the old guy in the class but as the semester progresses and my 4.0 GPA is still firmly in place they have often asked me to help them just a bit. I am thrilled to do so.

Many adults convince themselves that they are simply too old to go back to school. Gosh, they say, if I go back now,  I'll be blank years old when I finish in two years or I'll be blank years old when I'm finally done in four years. So my question is, how old will you be in two years or four years if you don't go back?