Many recognize the importance of having a good education especially going through college. Apart from the degree, it opens up your perspective to a whole vast world of academia.
For adults who still don't have a college degree, they have the opportunity to go back to school and get one through programs like Tennessee Reconnect that give free community college tuition.
But the problem that many face is more than just the financial. Being an adult, it won't be easy to balance work, family, studies, and life in general.
This causes Volunteer State Community College's retention rates to decline as many who enroll are forced to drop out because other things take greater priority.
That has been true of 31-year-old Megen Roberts, at least this time around. She first tried college four years ago, but one of her children, who has special needs, fell ill. Roberts dropped out.
But a few years later, she had a revelatory moment that pushed her to try again.
"I seriously was at work one day, and I just looked up, and everyone around me was really stressed, and everyone around me looked pretty miserable," she says, "and I decided, 'Yeah, I'm going to go back to college.' "
(Image credit: Yifan Wu/NPR)
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Kudos to Mrs. O! That's awesome (and yes, not easy at all!)
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Mrs.O dropped out of school at 16. After we married and when our kids were older she got her GED. Then she got an Associate Degree in Accounting form the community college. At age 50 she went to college full time for two years and eventually got her BS in Accounting. Not easy and I couldn't have been more proud of her.
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