Schools
Back to School: Adult Students Tackle the College Challenge
By Elyse Reel
Aug 13, 2008 - 4:43:20 PM

Now a part-time student, Michelle Woodring (with daughter Taylor) plans to enter the nursing program at John Tyler Community College.

Nearly everyone who’s attended college agrees: it can be a daunting experience. Often, trying to juggle work, classes, personal responsibilities, and a social life is more than a little challenging.

And that’s especially true if you’re heading back to college 21 years after high school.
Michelle Woodring, who lives in the Courthouse area, graduated from a Joppatowne, Md. school in 1987. At twenty, she got married, and found her focus changing. “I didn’t start a family until 1998, but I was focusing on my marriage and building a home, and I just got sidetracked,” Woodring says. For thirteen years, she worked as a regional manager for Weinstein Properties, often finding herself on the road between Harrisonburg, Charlottesville, and Petersburg.

Then things changed: she had a daughter, who is now ten years old; and got divorced after an 18-year marriage. Once again, Woodring found her priorities shifting. “When I got divorced and I was on my own, I had to reevaluate where I was,” she says. “I had an option of going back to property management, or going back to school to pursue a stable career.” She chose the latter, and enrolled part-time at John Tyler Community College, where she intends to pursue a nursing degree in the spring.

The experience, she says, has been a blast. “I really love it!” she admits. “One of the things I was concerned about was everyone’s being so much younger than me, but what I found is that at least half of my classes are full of people my age or close to my age.”

That’s not surprising, according to John Tyler’s interim dean Chris Pfautz. “About 45 percent of the student population here is over 24,” he says. “We see a large number of students who may have been stay-at-home parents, raised the family, and are now deciding that because their kids are in school, they’re going to go to school, too.” Other continuing education students attend John Tyler for a career change following a layoff, or to get work re-training.

“I think that some people my age are in my position – divorced and supporting kids, or realizing after 15 or 20 years that their career doesn’t offer stability anymore,” Woodring says. “The only way to regain stability is to get educated.”

The education Woodring has received in her time at John Tyler has been “outstanding” so far, she says. “All of the staff there really want you to succeed. They give you all the help and the tools that you need. They’re always there, always willing to help you with whatever it takes. I’ve seen that with every teacher I’ve had.”

In Pfautz’ experience, the biggest challenge for continuing ed students has been balancing competing responsibilities. “A lot of students are working, taking care of families, and are adding college to their plates,” he says. “It becomes a challenge to balance all of those priorities, but I think our adult students do very well with that in general.”

“You have to just set your mind in focus and do it,” says Woodring. “That goes not just for education, but anything you want to accomplish. I’m determined to finish school, maintain a 4.0 average, take care of my daughter, and keep up the house. I know that I can do it.”

Woodring has actually found that her daughter, Taylor, has become her biggest cheerleader during her college experience. “She’s very proud of me!” Woodring says. “I hope to set an example for her so she’ll understand how important school is. She’s going into fifth grade, and she understands the importance of paying attention and doing her homework. Watching me with my education, I think she knows that it’s imperative to go to school and finish.”  

Others in Woodring’s neighborhood have taken heart in her college experiences. “Since I started attending college, I’ve seen three other people in my neighborhood start it, too,” she says. “I can’t say it’s because of me, but when they see other adults doing it, I think they realize they can, too.”

Both Pfautz and Woodring admit that jumping back into the world of education after a long absence can be a difficult endeavor, but they champion it nonetheless.

“I advise anyone who’s interested in it to come out to the college and meet with a counselor to talk about their options,” says Pfautz. “I think a lot of people have that fear of the unknown and want to do it, but they’re afraid of taking that first step.”

Woodring says, “I’d say do it! Definitely do it. As you get older you just get into this rut where you think you could never go back to school, but you can! Once you do it, you just feel so much better about yourself. Your self-esteem and confidence skyrocket.”

Plus, she adds, growing older has given her a much more positive view of school. “I’m really focused on learning now,” she says. “I like school so much more as an adult, and I’m having a lot of fun.”

ereel@villagepublishing.com | 751-0421

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