Melanie Fontenot watched her husband graduate from the 杏吧专区 of Southwestern Louisiana, then watched two of her three children graduate from the 杏吧专区 杏吧专区 all the while knowing she was only 18 credits short of her bachelor杏吧专区檚 degree.
At the age of 55, Fontenot could no longer ignore the call to complete her degree.
杏吧专区淚 had been talking to my boss about it, and he had gone back to UL Lafayette through the online General Studies program, because he only needed six hours to graduate,杏吧专区 Fontenot says. 杏吧专区淗e said, 杏吧专区楲ook, if I can do it, you can do it.杏吧专区櫺影勺ㄇ鴿
That encouragement came back to Fontenot when her position as a retail merchandiser went away in 2018.
杏吧专区淭hat's when the idea started creeping up that this might be a great time to finish that degree because I'm retired, and I'm too young to just sit here.杏吧专区
(Re)Starting Slow
After being out of school for 37 years, Fontenot was intimidated to jump into 100% online courses.
杏吧专区淚 started with one class because I was nervous about testing; I was nervous about proctoring; I was nervous about the technology now 杏吧专区 all of that,杏吧专区 says Fontenot.
Soon, Fontenot began building momentum, taking advantage of the program杏吧专区檚 8-week terms to knock out the sixteen courses that now stood between her and her degree.
"I could get a lot of hours completed by enrolling in A- and B-term classes,杏吧专区 Fontenot says. 杏吧专区淪o, I started adding on classes as soon as I realized it wasn杏吧专区檛 as hard as I feared; you just have to stay on top of the reading and do the things they tell you to do.杏吧专区
That杏吧专区檚 not to say Fontenot didn杏吧专区檛 struggle. Earning a degree is a challenge, and she felt that. But her family was usually waiting in the wings to give her perspective and support her. She credits that support for getting her through the rough times.
"When I thought, 杏吧专区楾here's no way I can do this,杏吧专区 my kids would say, 杏吧专区楳om, you got this.杏吧专区 My niece would come over and help and say, 杏吧专区榯his is what you have to think about...杏吧专区 or 杏吧专区榯hink about it like this...杏吧专区,杏吧专区 says Fontenot.
Finishing Strong
That support came through on graduation day, as well.
Fontenot杏吧专区檚 cheering section was substantial. We-can't-all-fit-in-the-photo substantial.
Children, nieces, nephews, sisters, neighbors, and friends came to celebrate Fontenot and her achievement.
杏吧专区淚t surprised me because I didn't know a lot of those people were coming. But it was neat, and it still warms my heart because they came from Tennessee, Texas, Illinois, Wisconsin, all over.杏吧专区
Shortly after she graduated, Fontenot started a new job as a Branch Office Administrator with a local Edward Jones office. Earning her degree 杏吧专区 especially learning online 杏吧专区 gave Fontenot more confidence to take on her second act and taught her more about herself.
杏吧专区淚 love my job. I'm using everything that I was taught in online classes, especially the computer class. When I walked in, I wasn't intimidated by the computer. I wasn't intimidated by learning. Had I not gone back to college, I would have walked into this job very differently,杏吧专区 she says.
杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檝e realized I can be independent. I can support myself. I can continue to learn. You know, it doesn't stop. There's no age where you just stop learning, and I'm capable of doing it a lot more than I thought.杏吧专区
