While juggling paying the bills or raising their own children, non-traditional students find community colleges to continue their education.
By: Sam Wise
– Staff Writer –
Community colleges often give high school graduates a transitional period between high school and four-year colleges or universities. Those traditional students take classes full time and find a way to balance their course load. However, community colleges are just that—colleges for the community and it can be commonplace around campus to see students who are trying to balance school with a job or even a family.
The non-traditional student is not directly out of high school. While juggling paying the bills or raising their own children, they find community colleges to continue their education.
At STLCC-Meramec, the faculty is no stranger to non-traditional students. Many of them also have plenty of advice to give out to students actively trying to succeed in multiple facets of their lives.
Doris Durgins-Johnson is a student advocate at the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) offices located upstairs in the Student Center. The TANF office is designed to assist students receiving government assistance but “we get involved in a little bit of everything,” Durgins-Johnson said.
She goes on to quote an old proverb, “A failure to plan, is a plan to fail. Make sure you have things organized. If you have children, you got to have your daycare set.”
Meramec no longer offers day care services, but Durgins-Johnson refers people to the Child Day Care Association, which has a built-in search to find a day care close to home.
Psychology Professor Sophia Pressman shared the non-traditional path as she went into college. While in school Pressman could not imagine not working because she had to support her family.
Pressman went on to echo what Durgins-Johnson said, saying, “The faculty encourages students to use college to explore, but the most successful students have a plan and know how to do it and they keep going and doing it.”
“If you’re balancing family with school, you need time management,” Pressman said.
She also recommends that students use a calendar and write down important dates of both school and family affairs and use this to stay organized.
“Always have solid support. You need people in your life to support you,” Pressman said.
From a psychology standpoint, she said it is important to feel successful, seeing positive results boosts self-esteem and alleviates stress.
“Sometimes people just forget to take care of themselves. Just find every resource possible, including family to distract you and alleviate some of that stress. I cannot emphasize social support enough,” Pressman said.
A resource for those students stuck in a power struggle to gain control over their situation is the Advising and Counseling Department, located on the second floor of Clark Hall.
The counseling department is designed to help students with many different aspects of life. Donna Zumwinkel, the chair of the counseling department, discussed some functions of the counseling department that would be of use to students balancing school with either jobs, families or both.
Zumwinkel further echoes what Durgins-Johnson and Pressman said regarding organization. “Time management is the most important thing; usually people who take on school and family or work are highly motivated and have that skill but it’s very important.”
However, she warns that students need to take care of themselves too.
“Sometimes people get so caught up with trying to achieve their grades and get caught up in other things, they forget about their own health,” Zumwinkel said.
Zumwinkel advised that it is important to set realistic goals.
“You can have a B or a C and still be a successful student,” Zumwinkel said.
She goes on to explain how important it is for students to utilize the resources on campus. There are tutoring labs around campus. As well as the Writing Center, whose tutors sit down and look at students’ writing and help them build stronger writing skills.
“It’s the little things that can really help the way your semester flows,” Durgins-Johnson said.
Lauren Craft holds her then three-month-old baby Naila in 2010, while preparing to study for a computer class. Craft, a wife and mother, was taking classes at Meramec, looking to major as an ultrasound technician.
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