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Introducing Carlisa, our Online College student

Posted by Carlisa on November 18th, 2009

I'm a new "blogger" and like most people today, I had personal goals and dreams that changed as life happened around me. In this blog, I invite you to follow along in my journey of getting an online college degree through AIU (American Intercontinental University).

I graduated high school in Alabama in 1979 (OMG, I just realized, it's been 30 years!).  To make long story short, "Life Happened".  I met a guy, got married, had children, became a gymnastics/ballet/girl scout/soccer mom, a Sunday school teacher, and worked in various radio stations.

Jump ahead 27 years.  I'm now divorced, my kids are grown and I have 2 grandchildren.  The state of the economy caused the group of radio stations that I worked with to downsize, so I lost my job.  I moved to Georgia to be near my parents and tried desperately to find another radio job.  In my attempt to find "work" I saw the same requirements, over and over.  It was quite apparent that to get a good job – a career – I needed to get a Bachelors Degree. All of a sudden I realized that the ringing in my ears was actually my dad's voice in my head – something about having a "back-up plan"!

The thought of going back to school seemed crazy, but exciting!  I mean, I barely graduated high school (again, 30 years ago!).  I'm not a particularly "scholarly" person and just couldn't imagine myself being able to follow through.  Plus, I'll be turning 50 on my next Birthday. "Is there really any sense in getting a college degree at this age", I asked myself.   Also "isn't college expensive"?  But everywhere I looked, there were ads enticing me "Moms, Go Back to School"!  All the talk about getting government grants, student loans and scholarships to further my education peaked my interest.

My first step was to start researching all the possibilities.  I'm not one to make quick decisions.  I had to do a lot of investigating and compiling and comparing of information.  It turns out that I was indeed eligible for grants, scholarships and student loans.  I started calling area schools and researching the many online college and "brick and mortar" college options.  I took lots of notes as I asked loads of questions and compared the details for all the colleges that I was considering.  My phone was ringing off the hook as admission advisors were constantly calling me back trying to win my enrollment.

I weighed the pros and cons of being in an actual classroom with other students for classes, vs being at home alone with my computer for online classes.  There were many decisions to be made.  In my next blogs, I'll walk you through getting into AIU and my online college experiences.

3 Responses to “Introducing Carlisa, our Online College student”

  1. Tim Says:

    Similar story here. My wife got accepted to Veterianry School and I dropped out of school to go to work and earn some money. Five years later I'm managing her verterinary clinic and going back to school is the last thing on my mind. I love pets and working with clients but now 30 years later my three children are grown and I'm ready for a new challenge. I'm thinking of going back to school but I'm a guy. Does it work for us too?

  2. Jeannie Gehle Says:

    Hello,thanks for this fantastic blogg, i really find many

  3. Carlisa Says:

    Hi Jeannie and Tim,
    Thank Ya'll for viewing, reading & replying !
    I am just now getting over the holidays and back
    in school, hope your holidays were great !

    Tim, to answer your question, yes, of course !
    Our classes are about half & half
    (male/female).

    Many students, both male & female have stories
    similar to yours (& mine)!

    Any many of the students are still working their
    full time jobs while attending AIU !

    I say "Go For it" !

    : )

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