User:RiverHorse1964

I am a middle aged college student who chose to forgo my bachelor's degree when in my late teens due my father's battle with cancer. I couldn't bring myself to burden my parents with an additional $10,000 a year in debt for a piece of paper that for all intent and purposes would not have won me a job. In 1984 I was making about $25,000 per year when college grads were getting jobs that required a hat and memorizing the question; " Y'all want fries wit dat?"

Fast forward to2005 and it's getting harder and harder to find a job without a degree, so I decided to give it a try. My oldest brother did it at 55 years old he graduated with his bachelor's in Finance. Actually I got tired of reading about him making dean's list semester after semester! In 2007 I entered Bucks County Community College and two ad a half years later I finished my Associates in Applied Science in May 2010.

The following fall in entered Temple University's Fox School of Business to complete my journey of finally receiving my Bachelor's degree. I am hoping that if all goes as planned, I will receive a Bachelor of Art in Human Resource Management degree in August 2013.

Both my parents lost individual battles with cancer, I know they would both be proud of me, because my family proud of me. It's not easy starting an education at a time in life when most are winding down for retirement. I feel as though I'm gearing up for the rest of my life!! There are a few surprises I've discovered along the way to achieving my degree: 1) my memory has improved tremendously, 2) I feel younger and more energetic than I did before I went to school the second time, 3) college students know all the tricks to cheating on exams and finding completed homework through the Internet.  I myself haven't cheated on any exam, homework, or project.  But I have found at least one mid-term project, worth 35% of grade, posted on the Internet by a University of Ohio professor that was supposed to be for the use of college level teaching and used by professors free of charge.  It included, story, guidelines, questions, answers and all possible outcomes that should be expected from the student.

As I sat in class listening to presentation after presentation I almost heard verbatim each of my class mates present their completed project as noted by the Ohio U. professor. You know, only the names in each story were changed to protect the guilty. I watched my professors ace time and again during the presentations, her smile happily as she believed she actually got through to these students and they "Got it".

Oh and another thing going to school full time, since my job with a major insurance broker fired me for claiming harassment, corporate America DOES not want to hired someone who has not been working full time for more than six months. Can't get anyone to look t my resume because I took time off to get a degree. WTF?