Reflecting back on my college experience

Last time I posted anything here was for school. I've officially been done with school for two years. I just hit the two year mark for paying student loans. Eight years left to go!

My thoughts on going back to college as a mature student.

First of all, let me say that I wish I had spent my last two years of high school in AP courses instead of spending all my time skiing and working at Snowbird. Life lesson learned. Secondly, school would have been less expensive and easier had I gone straight through after my LDS mission to Buenos Aires (oeste) Argentina.

My college experience was non-traditional though I must say it was not unusual. There were many students in a similar role or situation during my tenure at the various schools I attended.

I started my college experience in 1997 at the Salt Lake Community College. It was a good experience and I got good grades. I took classes at the various campuses and truly delved into the college experience. After completing my two years for my associates degree in 1999, I transferred to the University of Utah.

The University of Utah was a really good school. At this time I was just getting married, I started a new job at Wells Fargo as a technical banking specialist and my official declared major was pre-dental. After returning from Scotland and starting the enrolment process at the University of Glasgow it was pretty obvious that my fiancée was less than excited about starting a new marriage in a foreign country. Hence, new job at Wells Fargo and I enrolled at the University of Utah.

At this point my life changed forever. 6 months after working at Wells Fargo, I was given the opportunity to apply for a new job. This job would eventually become my career.

Here's a little background: I have always been fairly knowledgeable with computers and have been fascinated with them. Most of my friends and all the guys I played in bands with were either programmers, system admins, or worked extensively with digital media.

Suffice to say, I knew a thing or two about computers. I had an aptitude for it and I truly enjoyed working with computers.

So, after securing a job as as an actual computer tech at Wells Fargo, I changed majors, started over with the 4 year program for computer science at the University of Utah and began coding my way through countless hours of LISP, Java, C, and a variety of other languages. (remember this was only 2001).

After 3 years of struggling with full time job, daughter, apartments, duplexes, and a now pregnant wife I just up and quit school.

Six months later my son, Cole, was born. We had moved to Millcreek township on the east side of Salt Lake and purchased our first home. I think the next four years was primarily dedicated to work, side work, and selling plasma as a way of earning. I spent most of my time with the family and I love the time I spent with my wife and two children. I was working swing shift (2pm-12am) so with every Friday or at least every other Friday off.

Life changed again when Olivia now 5 entered kindergarten. I was sure I didn't want to miss out on time with her so I changed jobs to a day shift so I could see her when I got home from work. I took a pay cut and worked hard. I was still working for Wells Fargo as a team lead for the Auto Finance Helpdesk.

At this point I realised how my earning potential was being limited by my lack of a bachelor's degree. I went back to the U of U and met with counsellors and advisers to see what options existed. Unfortunately for me I was told that with a non-traditional background it would be difficult to complete a four year degree and to finish my degree would take roughly two years considering the amount of time it had been since I last attended.

A year later I took a new job with Wells Fargo as a Server Engineer (Systems Administrator). I kept working hard and for another three years I was bothered by my lack of schooling but hoped my years of experience would make up for it.

The turning point for me was in early 2010. I had a meeting where it became very clear that my job would be going away. I had a little time on my side but I saw the trend and could read the writing on the wall. (it said "Bad Wolf" -- for all you whovians out there).

Living close to Westminster College inspired me to talk to alumni and visit the school to see if this was a viable option for continuing my education. I was sure I would have to start my schooling from scratch but I applied anyway. I was amazed that I had only two years to complete my four year degree. There were only three lower division classes that I needed to complete along with my upper division classes. This meant carrying a full load of classes including summer semester.  After discussing with Kara if she was willing to be a single mom for two years, she agreed to it and I kissed her goodbye.

For the next two years, I was one of the old guys in class but amazingly enough I was far from the oldest. There were certainly a bunch of kids that were fresh out of high school. One of my favourite activities was the chance to be a Systems Administrator for the student server that the Computer Science department used. I not only learned how to properly code and write programs but I had excellent tutelage from Greg Gagne, Dan Byrne, and Helen Hu. Greg and Dan left the most impression on me. Both often expressed their gratitude for my hard work and dedication. They commended me for my efforts and on one occasion (after spending 2 hours at school, 8 hours at work, and then 5 hours at school, I was told, "Go home. Get some rest. Hug your wife and kids. Take a partial credit on this assignment, it won't affect your overall grade of an 'A' for the class." It seems like a little thing but at the time it meant the world to me.

I am proud to say that I not only earned by BS in Computer Science from Westminster College but I also graduated Cum Laude (with Honors). I was thirty-five when I graduated. I took my college career seriously and I realised the cost of failure and consider every penny I spent on my education worth it's weight in gold.