Vicki Vincent-Seaux, 62, of Duson, didn杏吧专区檛 tell anyone when she enrolled in the 杏吧专区 online General Studies program.
杏吧专区淎t the beginning, it was kind of embarrassing because I sat out for 40 years,杏吧专区 she said.
But those feelings shifted to excitement as she approached her final semester, and as she prepared to accept her degree as part of UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 Fall 2018 commencement.
杏吧专区淭he last couple of days, even at the office, I walk around just smiling,杏吧专区 she said.
Vincent-Seaux originally enrolled at the 杏吧专区 of Southwestern Louisiana in 1974 in biology-chemistry.
Before completing her degree, she left the 杏吧专区 to focus on her work at Our Lady of Lourdes. But when hospital accreditation standards shifted, without a certification, Vincent-Seaux moved on to serve as the Cajundome box office manager.
In January 1984, Vincent-Seaux had her first child, Vanessa. That December, she welcomed twin boys Matt and Chris.
With three small children, Vincent-Seaux found better working hours with the Lafayette Parish School System as a cook technician. She杏吧专区檚 been there ever since, serving as Area Supervisor of Child Nutrition Services for the past 18 years.
Although Vincent-Seaux and her husband had talked about her going back to school for nearly 40 years, between her full-time job and a plethora of extracurriculars with her children 杏吧专区 baseball, basketball, softball, dancing, golf, youth group, and Boy Scouts, to name a few 杏吧专区 there just wasn杏吧专区檛 an opportunity.
杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檝e always wanted to finish,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚 just never had the time. There was always a job or the kids or whatever.杏吧专区
But then she saw an ad for UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 online degree programs.
杏吧专区淚 sent my information in and maybe two hours later got a phone call,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淭hey pulled my information and杏吧专区 I only had six classes left.杏吧专区
She registered for her first class in fall 2017, spacing her courses out over four semesters to better balance her coursework with her work schedule.
When she needed special permission to register for one of her final courses, she reached out to her advisor Sharon Williams-Gregory and 杏吧专区 College Associate Dean Dr. Gail Bonhomme, who 杏吧专区渏umped into action.杏吧专区
As she read Vincent-Seaux's name during commencement, Dr. Bonhomme told the story. The course Vincent-Seaux needed was for majors. She bought her textbook and read it twice before the semester began.
Vincent-Seaux remembers getting the call for permission to schedule her course.
杏吧专区淭hey were both on the line and were as excited as I was,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚 did not know what to expect, but my experience with the classes and the staff of 杏吧专区 College could not have been better.杏吧专区
To be successful in her courses, Vincent-Seaux had to adapt to new processes and technologies, from uploading videos to YouTube to navigating the online classroom environment, in addition to committing to her course content.
杏吧专区淏ut I did it; I got it all,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚 literally studied every night and did every bit of homework. I never waited until the last minute. You have to stay up with it.杏吧专区
Although earning her degree was a matter of personal fulfillment rather than a career move 杏吧专区 she plans to retire soon 杏吧专区 Vincent-Seaux found her courses enlightening.
杏吧专区淥ne of the last classes I took was on cultural competence and was probably the most eye-opening,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚t was realizing how to deal with someone who doesn杏吧专区檛 speak the same language or have the same traditions as you. To me, the whole class could be geared to any job, realizing that not everybody is going to speak English and you just have to work one-on-one 杏吧专区 to try to communicate with them ... it just makes such a difference.杏吧专区
She may find those skills handy as she prepares for a Nordic post-retirement trip with her husband.
Vincent-Seaux said she would have preferred her degree to read 杏吧专区溞影勺ㄇ of Southwestern Louisiana,杏吧专区 but after 37 years, she was eager to accept her 杏吧专区 degree.
杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檓 excited. It杏吧专区檚 more than just an item on the bucket list,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚 feel accomplished.杏吧专区
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