Three years ago, when I turned forty, I went back to school. I did not climb a mountain, did not jump out of an airplane, and did not pose in the buff. I went back to school. It was as simple as any milestone birthday action—do something you have always wanted to do and do it for nobody but yourself. I applied and was accepted in the Public Administration and Governance certificate program at Ryerson University’s G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education.
I figured that I would never have enough time or money to go back to school, and that this would be a regret I would have later in life. After I got my acceptance letter, the next step would be to find both the time and money. I am your typical mom of three young kids (ages five to fourteen), an active community volunteer with the Boys and Girls Club of Durham, and, oh, right, I work full time as the Executive Director of the Durham Region Local Training Board. I bet you are wondering, "How did she do it?" I wondered the same thing. How on earth would I manage to balance everything?
Technology is the answer. The only way I could go back to school was to leverage the technology that The Chang School makes available to busy students, like myself, through online learning. With technology, I can engage in the university experience and access classroom, library, and student support services virtually, and feel part of the community, like any other student. The Learning Success Centre was a perfect place to begin, because it offers online courses for students to dust off skills that they may not have used for a few years. I benefited from the refresher courses in spelling, grammar, and writing. This pre-work really paid off, and I was thrilled when I received a Leaders in Learning Scholarship for academic excellence. It validated the early mornings of studying, late nights at my computer, and lunches spent reading my textbook.
I am halfway through my certificate and expect to complete it by next summer. Then who knows what will be next for me. As a working professional, you should take the time to ensure that you are learning, keeping your skills up-to-date, and expressing yourself to the best of your ability.
Here’s my advice if you are considering going back to school:
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