How I became a student at Penn State

I should make something a bit clear. With Penn State's main campus is at University Park, Pennsylvania, it has a total of 24 campuses statewide. My husband teaches at Penn State - Beaver; therefore, that is the campus I will be going to class. That campus in located north and a bit west of Pittsburgh. And though this is not the main campus, it is still Penn State.

I will be honest that and say that though I've been wanting to go to college for very long time, I find it quite the advantage to be married to a faculty member that will allow me a great savings in tuition. Would I have gone to college otherwise? I would like to say yes, but I don't really know. If we had stayed in Dayton, I would have probably taken classes toward in a different direction to aid my career. Now that I no longer work, I can look in a different direction and take a different path. To be honest, I think this path will make me a lot happier.

Many years ago, before I graduated high school, I had many dreams of college. I often wondered, back then, what my major would be... art? literature? education? I did well in many different things and I made very good grades. Sadly, because I was from a very poor family and was not advised of all my options, I honestly thought a college education would never be in my future. I had been married a few years (to my first husband) when I sought out the information and made plans to go to college. I had high hopes of actually getting a degree in math with hopes of teaching. However, my now ex was less than encouraging and again I did not go.

When I met David, he was on the verge of going back to school to get his PhD. He asked me to go with him to OH and live with him there while he went back to school. Fortunately for me I had a job that I could transfer from place to place at that time. I was quite content to work while he schooled. He was basically getting paid to go and we were basically living off my paycheck and his savings. I often mused about going back to school and getting a degree of my own, but the older I got the harder it was to visualize that dream coming true.

I knew that the one real reason for David going back to get his PhD was so that he could teach. He wanted to teach so bad he could taste it. As a computer scientist, he could be making really good money just about anywhere with just his Masters, the PhD was needed for him to teach at university level. Yes, he makes less money now than he did in the corporate world, but he is much happier. And that is most important of all.

I had lived a long and hard and emotional life with my first husband. It was a very emotional divorce and marriage was definitely not something I had in mind ever again. However much I loved David I honestly never thought about getting married. It was just something that never came up. One evening we had gone to dinner and we were talking about school, life and work. He was just a few months away from defending his dissertation and graduating. He would be out looking for a job and the worse part was that he would most likely find one away from Dayton. WOW, if he didn't get a job here one of two things would happen... I would lose my job and follow him OR I would lose him. That thought started my stomach doing flip-flops... but then he reached his hand out and took mine. And he said "You know, some places allow professors wives to go to school for free. Or at least at a huge discount." I blinked, "are you asking me to marry you?" I asked. Yeah he was! OMG!!

So here we are, and now it is my turn. I may never get as far a PhD, or even a Masters degree. But I'm damn sure going after the baccalaureate degree and I am going to have it. If it take me a little longer, I don't care. This is MY time to realize a dream.

Monday is my first day. I'm nervious... a bit jittery.. but at the same time I'm so excited I can't stand it. I'm actually looking forward to the classes, the homework, the tests and yeah the fun too. It may turn out that all my friends for a short time will be 18-22 but what the hell; I keep being told that age is just a number. I may not be able to run and jump with the rest of them, but I can still join the groups and enjoy the campus parties and stuff. And why not? I may be "Old" but I'm not dead.... Right!?

So most of my articles from here on out will probably be about what I'm doing at Penn State. How my classes are going. If I take writing courses (and I'm almost certain I will) I will share what I've written and let you know what my grade is. I want all my friends here to be as excited about this as I am... and live my dream with me, through my eyes. Well I guess that about all for now!

WE ARE PENN STATE!!