Hello everyone:

Sometimes, it takes a little while before the light bulbs go off. What I mean by this is that some students don’t get themselves together academically for a while. For some, it takes longer than for others.

I once knew a man who had 120 credits (enough for a bachelor’s degree) but he didn’t even have an associate’s degree (60 credits). His wife had even more credits than he did, yet she only had an associate’s degree.

I met a very special lady at the reception before the Baccalaureate service that we had this past Friday. She had taken a class with me three years before. It was a lower level core class, a communication course that everyone had to take. She had been a struggling student, returning to school after about 20 years.

It appeared at first that she might not make it. Happily, she took one of my classes and was willing to accept my critique of her writing. We spent several hours on the phone during that semester, talking twice for extended periods of time. And she made it. She had been an online student and was finally, after three years, graduating with her associate’s degree.

She came over to me at the reception, to introduce herself. It was a real blessing to see this dear woman, having never met her before that moment.

What can we take away from her story? Just that, when you are offered help, take it. Learn from it. Don’t reject your instructor’s offer with the attitude that you don’t need help, Instead, embrace it and you may end up like that gal did- as a college graduate. She’s on her way, beginning work this fall on getting her bachelor’s degree and thinking about a master’s degree. Congratulations, Angie. I’m so very proud of you.

Her light bulb is brightly burning. How about yours?

Best,

Dr. Sheri