Going Back to School

One of the biggest changes in my life has been the decision to go back to college to earn my Bachelor's Degree.

I graduated from high school in 1986 and headed for college at the University of Maryland campus in Munich, Germany.  I had always been an A/B student and once I arrived in Munich that all changed.  I decided that partying was a higher priority than attending class or completing classwork.  After one year of mostly C's, my parents told me they were no longer paying for school.  I had no other option than to come home.

In the late 1980's, I decided to join the Air Force and while in the service, I sporadically took night classes that allowed me to get my Associate's Degree in 1999.  At that point in time, I was fine with not pushing to get my Bachelor's.

I retired from the Air Force in 2008 and decided to stay home with my kids.  I did not work and I did not pursue any further education.  I loved being a stay at home mom, but I was also bored to tears.  I needed to interact with adults.

In 2012, I got a job as a receptionist at the Social Security Administration's Office of Disability Adjudication and Review in Macon, Georgia.  I really loved my job and after a year, the director promoted me to a position as the Hearing Office Scheduler.  SSA was not able to hire at that time and so everyone in the office rotated through the reception position for four hours per month.  As the scheduler, I worked hard and after about three months, I successfully cleared the Macon office's backlog. I felt great!  That's when things changed.

Our director retired and we got an interim director who decided, for no other reason than to appease other personnel who were complaining about having to work the reception desk, to call me into his office and tell me that I was probably going to move back to the receptionist position.  At first, I told him that I was a team player and that I would do whatever the office required.  I went home that night and started to get angry.  I felt like the interim director was trying to keep a few complainers happy, rather than keeping me in a position where I excelled.

The next day, I went to see the director and I told him that I wasn't happy with his decision.  I told him that I should never have been promoted, if there was even a minute chance that I might have to go back the front desk.  At that point, he asked me if I was refusing to move.  I told him, I wasn't sure yet and the he said, "If you are refusing to go back to the front desk, then I have to do what's best for the agency."  At that point, I realized I was just a number.  I told him I was going home for the day and I would let him know my decision the next day.

Luckily for me, I didn't need the job for financial reasons, as I received my military retirement pay.  I wanted the job so I could have a purpose.  I spoke with my husband and told him that my education benefits earned from my military service, would expire in a few years.  He told me he would support any decision, I made.

The next day, I turned in my resignation letter to my director and our lead judge.  For two weeks, they both begged me to stay.  But the damage had already been done.  I was not going to continue to work somewhere, where hard workers were not recognized for their accomplishments and complainers were allowed to drive management decisions.

I decided to go back to school full time and get my Bachelor's degree.  I have now been in school since August 2014.  I was really nervous about attending classes, because I felt like it would be difficult dealing with other students who might have a completely different outlook on things than me.  Surprisingly, that has not been the case.  One of the first classes I took was American Government.  One class per week was devoted to lecture and the other class was devoted to debate.  There were many times, when my opinion on a matter was completely different than the remainder of the class.  I remember sometimes being the only person raising her hand on a topic.  But there were many times, where after laying out my opinion to the class, other students changed their viewpoint and agreed with me.

Becoming a student in my late 40's has been a real adjustment, but it's one I have embraced.  I thoroughly enjoy coming to school and learning new things and making new friends.  I hope to have my Bachelor's in Health Services Administration within the next year and then move onto a new job.

P.S.  I would like to give you a bit of advice.  Please stay in school.   It might seem like a drag now, but it's an even bigger drag, when you have major responsibilities to take care of like paying bills and supporting a family.