It\u2019s never too late to graduate.<\/p>\n
That was the experience of Christine Lyons, who started at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the 1970s and is finally graduating in May 2018.<\/p>\n
She had started working on her psychology degree at 51ÁÔÆæ and was pretty much finished when she dropped out of school in 1979 to take care of her father, who was ailing. Then, life happened. She got married, moved to California and took a job where the degree wasn\u2019t absolutely essential.<\/p>\n
\u201cI sort of put it on the back burner for 20 years. It was just unfinished business,\u201d said Lyons, who is now approaching 60.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, she has built a successful career at Starbucks, working as a district manager in the San Francisco area.<\/p>\n
Then, two things happened that led her back to 51ÁÔÆæ to finish that psychology degree she\u2019d started so long ago.<\/p>\n
The College of Letters and Science at 51ÁÔÆæ began reaching out to students like Lyons who were just a few credits short of a degree, offering to help them find a way to finish up.<\/p>\n
And Lyons\u2019 daughter was in college. As Lyons encouraged her to stick with her education and finish up, her daughter asked, \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n
So, working with Deanna Alba, assistant dean of Letters & Science, and others in the college, Lyons was able to figure out what she needed to do to finish, though it took almost a year to get everything in order. Community college classes Lyons had taken in California were counted toward her requirements, and she ended up needing only one more psychology course to finish her degree \u2013 a class that was offered online. And she received a scholarship to help cover the cost.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was so impressed with all that 51ÁÔÆæ was able to do for me,\u201d said Lyons. \u201cTo make it possible for me to graduate after all this time is really pretty remarkable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lyons\u2019 journey isn\u2019t unique, Alba said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndividuals can get detoured from their college journey for any number of reasons,\u201d said Alba. \u201cAfter some years pass, many are not aware of how close they really are to a degree. Or, they may not know about financial aid options and flexible formats such as online classes that can help them achieve their goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
The College of Letters & Science routinely contacts former students to inform them of their options and offer encouragement and support to get back on the path to a degree.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is to turn deferred dreams into concrete and achievable action plans,\u201d Alba said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t be happier for Christine \u2013 she got to graduation because of her motivation to jump on this opportunity and because of her own hard work in the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lyons did well in the 600-level lab class and has enjoyed getting back into academic work again. \u201cThe class reminded me why I started taking psychology in the first place and how much I enjoyed the academic environment and the field of research psychology in particular.\u201d<\/p>\n
The coursework was challenging and the standards were high, but Lyons put forth her best effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will say that being older and balancing work\/family has its advantages \u2014 namely well-developed planning skills and staying ahead rather than getting behind!\u201d she wrote to Alba.<\/p>\n
What she\u2019s learned in completing her psychology degree has helped her career, and she\u2019s encouraging those she works with to continue their own education. She manages employees who are in their teens and early 20s, and learning in class about what drives their behavior gives her new insights.<\/p>\n
\u201cI manage people, and I\u2019m using my knowledge every day,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s never too late to graduate. That’s the experience of Christine Lyons, who started at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the 1970s and is finally graduating in May 2018.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":835,"featured_media":58930,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174],"tags":[250],"section":[246,247],"display_categories":[115,116],"related-coverage":[261],"uwmnews-feed":[167,158,160],"class_list":["post-58928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-student-success","section-business-world-affairs","section-politics-social-science","display_categories-top-story-secondary","display_categories-top-story-section","related-coverage-graduation","uwmnews-feed-alumni-association","uwmnews-feed-letters-science","uwmnews-feed-social-science"],"yoast_head":"\n