By Kelly Cacciolfi | Assistant Editor
My name is Kelly, I am a 43 year-old non-traditional student, and this is my final semester here at the Mount. Each semester starts the same way for me: scared to death of my classes, hoping I have great professors, finding my classrooms, and trying to balance home and school life seamlessly. The first three weeks are always the hardest for me in just trying to find the time to balance everything that needs to get done.
I have noticed on our MWCC campus the other non-traditional students and how sometimes they have the same look in their eyes as I do. I call the look the Non-Traditional Student Stare. In the middle of the semester, our stares become, “phew I am halfway there”. By the end of the semester, I feel as though our stares become those of “I did it and see the end in sight”. Thank goodness I am not alone and neither are you.
Every day starts at 5:30 a.m. with my alarm beeping or my 12-year-old son coming in to say “rise and shine” and then I wake my 14-year-old daughter (who hates to get up). A healthy breakfast (yes, I make breakfast at least 4 days a week) and packing up for the day is done by all. I race my son to a friend to drop him off for the bus to take him to Mahar and then race home to bring my daughter to Overlook in Ashburnham. All to be done by 7:25 a.m.
By the time I get to school (usually 7:35 a.m.), my day feels already over and I have to start thinking about how to make it through the night with all the kid’s extra activities, laundry, cooking, cleaning, and the kids and my homework. I have six classes this semester and I am determined to keep my grade point average high.
There is so much more that a non-traditional student such as me has to think about during the day then just school and homework. Life has led us all to make something more of ourselves, learning, loving, and being proud of each step we make toward a new future.
There was a club for non-traditional students that was stopped because of a lack of funding. I believe that with the amount of non-traditional students I see on our campus there is a need to start it up once more. Meeting, emailing, or using social media to connect with other students that are having a similar experience that you are having would be a great help. So if you’re a non-traditional student and you want to reach out and connect with others please let me know at kcacciolfi@mwcc.edu.
I am not alone! You are not alone! So when you see another non-traditional student with a stare like yours stop and say hello. I know there are more students out there trying to balance the world on their shoulders every day. It would be great to just know there are others making it, just like you.
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