Vol. 38, No. 18

1-18-2007
By: Julia Harris

Women on a mission

Now that January is almost over, it’s time for a reality check: How are those New Year’s resolutions holding up?

If you’re like most people — a 2005 survey by goalfree.com shows that only eight percent of us actually keep our resolutions — you’re already losing momentum.

Making a change doesn’t happen easily or quickly, which is why in about a month parking spots at gyms will be open. For some people, however, the status quo is no longer good enough, and they’re willing to put in the time and effort needed to make real changes.

Marie Gibbons, coordinator for donor recognition and stewardship with University Development, and Adrienne Gladish, sous chef at the RPAC cafés, are those type of motivated people. Both are taking advantage of the university’s tuition benefit to take classes through the Office of Continuing Education.

Gibbons is finishing up her bachelor’s with an eye to earning a graduate degree in public policy administration through the John Glenn School of Public Affairs. Gladish, who has an associate’s degree from culinary school, wants to earn a master’s degree in food service management and another in human resources and labor relations.

Both women believe the opportunity to better themselves through education is one of the prime benefits of working at Ohio State.

“I’ve worked at Ohio State for two years, and one of the reasons I wanted to work here was for the tuition benefit,” Gibbons says.

Her story is one many returning students share. She attended Ohio State in the late 1970s but dropped out after a year. After getting her associate’s degree in communication at Columbus State, she got married and became a stay-at-home mom for her four children. Then, life changed again: She got a divorce and took a position with the Columbus YMCA, where she discovered the affinity for fundraising that led her back to Ohio State two years ago.

Her lack of a college degree continued to gnaw at her. So, almost before she had turned on her office computer, Gibbons signed up for her first course — English 110 for Returning Students — through the Office of Continuing Education.

It was a Bridge class, a program designed specifically for staff interested in making the most of their tuition benefit. The program, available since 1983, offers classes tailored to the needs of working adults balancing school and family. Bridge offers core academic courses and also reserves a limited number of seats in regular sections of evening classes.

“The nice thing is that there were five or six people like me, older people considered non-traditional students, so we weren’t alone in the classroom,” Gibbons recalls.

Her second class was in women’s studies, and it was what persuaded her to pursue a bachelor’s degree in the field. “At first I was very uncertain about the class, I guess because I was much older than the instructor,” she says. “But I found the course content fascinating and I’m excited about what I’m learning.”

This quarter, she is branching out and taking two classes: a non-credit grammar refresher class through Continuing Education and another women’s studies course.

Gibbons has worked out a deal with her supervisor that allows her to take classes during the day.

“I think taking classes has given me a lot more confidence at work. I don’t know that getting a degree will change my life, but I do know it’s making a new me. I feel I’m providing a good example to my children, especially my daughter who is a junior at Miami University,” she says.

Gladish echoes Gibbons’ sentiment about modeling the value of education. Her son Derek, a 13-year-old wrestler with aspirations of becoming a pro football player, knows she has high academic expectations for him. “Oh, without a doubt he’ll have a master’s degree,” she says. “He’s a real mover and shaker.”

In addition to taking two classes per quarter toward her goal of earning two master’s degrees, she puts in roughly 50 hours a week to run her kitchens, Courtside Café and Juice 2 at the RPAC.

“Being in the kitchen for 20 years is not easy work,” she says. “I plan to retire someday, and with my background and two master’s degrees, I feel I can do a great job as a restaurant consultant.”

Even while acknowledging the struggle, she encourages staff and faculty to use their tuition benefits. “To have the advantage of being able to take a class and enrich your life is an amazing opportunity,” she declares. “If we don’t use it, then shame on us.”

Continuing Education 101

--The Office of Continuing Education has offered up to 21 Language and Culture courses and up to 14 Business and Communication courses (non-credit) per quarter.

-- Spanish and Italian are the most popular courses.
 

-- New non-credit courses include:  Spanish for Health Care Professionals, Succession Planning, Introduction to Strategic Planning, Developing Your Public Speaking Voice, Designing for Print, Illustrator CS2, InDesign CS2, Photoshop CS2, Dreamweaver 8.0, Flash 8.0, and Excel 2003 – Level 4.

--More than 53 online courses are offered in partnership with Gatlin Education Services.

--In 2005, approximately 18,000 students enrolled in CEd classes — 3,000 in credit programs and 15,000 in non-credit programs.

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