Continuing Higher Education

Southeast Missouri State engineering technology student Ronald Broyles poses for a photo in the university's polytech building Tuesday, March 20, 2018, in Cape Girardeau.

Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian

Three local citizens earn college degrees as nontraditional students

Imagine this: your oldest child is getting married, your first grandchild will be born soon, your spouse is retiring, you are working full-time — and you are enrolled in college. How do you possibly balance all of these life experiences while still pursuing higher education?

Nontraditional students in Southeast Missouri are doing this very thing. Rather than retiring, they are finding ways to earn their degrees and succeed in all areas as senior citizens.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, approximately 90 million adult students participate in postsecondary education. Of new jobs on the horizon, 65 percent will require a degree. In our post-recession economy, college degrees can help nontraditional students earn more money.

Three local senior citizens are graduating this May from Southeast Missouri State University. Each one hopes their degree will open new doors.

Southeast Missouri State engineering technology student Ronald Broyles, works in the university's polytech building with Gary Johnson, left, and polytechnic studies chairman Brad Deken, right, on Tuesday, March 20, 2018, in Cape Girardeau.

BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com

A Long Journey Toward a Degree

Marie Gill of Sikeston, Missouri, has decades of work experience in the banking industry and has been working towards a degree in business administration since 1986. She took one or two classes per semester as she raised two sons, worked and stayed active on the school board and at her church.

Both evening and online classes have helped her pass valuable information on to her staff and customers.

“I’ve always been a firm believer that you are never too old to learn,” Gill says. “You have to continually learn to stay up-to-date.”

Gill remembers that library research was tedious in the 1980s.

“Now you can sit in your own chair at home and click a button to do your class work,” she says of the difference in attending college then and now. She likes the flexibility that online classes offer in scheduling her study time around her work and family time.

She also enjoys face-to-face classes. During these, her real-world experiences are beneficial for the younger students to learn from. She has learned from the younger students, too.

“It’s been a mutual advantage because they gave me a different outlook on how to pace myself,” Gill says of the younger students. “They have a calm, relaxed approach that inspires me.”

Gill says the relationships she has developed with fellow students are good networking opportunities that will last into the future. She plans on pursuing a CPA after graduation.

An Unexpected Opportunity

When Noranda Aluminum closed in 2016, New Madrid resident Ronald Broyles had been employed there for over 28 years as a lab technician and electrician. He took advantage of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act, which covered his costs for getting a degree in engineering technology at Southeast Missouri State University. Broyles had previously earned his associate degree from Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff.

Broyles has taken most of his classes at SEMO’s campus. Each semester, he has enrolled in 15 credit hours, commuting between New Madrid and Cape Girardeau several days per week. He is hopeful that his new degree will get him a job with Magnitude 7 Metals, the aluminum smelter opening soon in the former Noranda facility.

Broyles says that as a younger person, he wasn’t as financially solvent to pursue a degree as he is now. He enjoys showing his millennial classmates how to solve problems based on his previous work as an electrician.

“I’ll always have my degree to fall back on,” Broyles says. “I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but I know my degree is something no one can take from me.”

Enhancing What You Already Know

Lorrie Compton currently lives outside of Atlanta, Georgia, but began pursuing her BSN in Cape Girardeau when her husband was transferred to Southeast Missouri for work in 2015. She had previously earned her RN from Middle Tennessee State University and worked in the nursing field for over 30 years. This May, she will graduate with her BSN summa cum laude.

Compton has found many advantages to being older than most of the students in her classes. She says that in one class she was the same age as her instructor, so she understood all of his jokes and references that the younger students didn’t get. Compton says it is also fun sharing her work experiences with fellow students and encouraging them to persevere through tough courses.

“Don’t be afraid to speak your mind in every class, even if you’re in the minority in terms of age or opinion,” Compton says of what she has learned throughout her time as a nontraditional student.

She also says that an online class requires self-discipline and good time management. “You’re constantly discussing issues with the teacher and other students in the forum,” she notes.

Compton’s classes have expanded her knowledge of medical technologies, which she’ll use as she looks for a job in research or nursing management. Her husband and three grown sons have provided much support.

Compton says, “My kids say, ‘I’m so proud of you, Mom!’”

For more information about local higher education programs for nontraditional students, contact:

Three Rivers College

Poplar Bluff

trcc.edu/admissions

573-840-9605

Southeast Missouri State University

Cape Girardeau

admissions@semo.edu

573-651-2590

Mineral Area College Perryville Center

Perryville

admissions@mineralarea.edu

573-547-4143