MOM OF SEVEN TO GRADUATE

Karen Redfearn has plenty to keep her busy.

A mother of seven children, Redfearn found time to go back to college.

She will graduate Saturday from Southeast Missouri State University with a bachelor of science degree in recreation.

Not only has she earned her degree, but she will graduate summa cum laude with a nearly straight-A grade-point average of 3.97 on a 4.0 scale.

But the 44-year-old Cape Girardeau woman has more on her mind than just graduating: One of her sons, Ryan, is getting married next week.

Redfearn seems to take it all in stride. She has even found time to decorate the house for Christmas.

She served up hot apple cider and Christmas cookies while being interviewed Wednesday afternoon at her home.

Redfearn will graduate Saturday, a dozen years after she began her college career.

She began her college studies in 1985 at John A. Logan College in Carterville, Ill., while pregnant with her seventh child.

"I had four finals the week my youngest child, Nicholas, was born," she recalled.

"I had been out of high school about 15 years before I decided I wanted to go to college," Redfearn said.

She received her associate degree in 1987 while she and her family were living in Herrin, Ill.

The Redfearns moved to Cape Girardeau in 1988.

Redfearn said she always wanted to earn a bachelor's degree. But she put that goal on hold for a few years to handle the busy duties of a mother.

She returned to college in spring 1996, enrolling at Southeast.

"It was a challenge to think of going to a university instead of a junior college," she remembered. But she quickly adjusted to university life.

Redfearn said she felt getting a bachelor's degree would send a message to her children. "I wanted them to know I valued an education," she said.

Her husband, Mike, is a former high school teacher. He currently is in the insurance business.

Four of their children are college students.

Two of them -- Ryan, 21, a pre-med major, and Aaron, 20, a marketing major -- attend Southeast. Chris, 23, is a music major at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Trent, 18, is a freshman at the University of Missouri-Columbia, majoring in chemical engineering.

Redfearn hopes her other three children also will attend college in a few years. Ross, 16, is a sophomore at Central High School. Ashleigh, 13, attends L.J. Schultz School. Nicholas, 10, attends Alma Schrader Elementary School.

"We have always tried to encourage our children to be good students," Redfearn said.

Redfearn said her family has been a big help. Her husband often watched the children while she studied. The older children drove the younger ones to dance lessons and soccer practices when her college studies prevented her from handling the transportation duties.

She initially hadn't planned on participating in the graduation ceremony. "I wasn't even going to walk through the graduation ceremony, but my family wanted me to," she said.

"It has taken the support of all of my family to finish my degree, and I appreciate that," Redfearn said.

Late hours at the computer lab in Dempster Hall also helped, she said.

"With a combination of day and night classes, I did most of my studying later in the evenings," Redfearn said.

After getting the kids to bed, Redfearn often returned to campus around 10 p.m., where she would spend the next four hours studying in the Dempster Hall computer lab.

"I really appreciated that the computer labs were open until 2 a.m.," she said.

Redfearn said she enjoyed her college studies. She is thinking of pursuing a master's degree at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.

Ultimately, she would like to work in youth recreation, perhaps as a consultant.

Redfearn said she isn't in a rush to get a full-time job. With her youngest child being 10, Redfearn said she still has plenty to do at home.