News Detail
11/04/2014
They’re some of the best jugglers on campus, but their skills have nothing to do with the circus.
They juggle full-time jobs, family responsibilities and long commutes with their classes. Most delayed college for a year or more after high school graduation. Usually, they are older — sometimes by decades — than their fellow students on campus.
They are SUNY Cortland’s non-traditional students. The College will celebrate them during Non-Traditional Students Week from Sunday, Nov. 2, through Saturday, Nov. 8. Each day, special activities will take place. And each day through Friday, Nov. 7, an inspiring non-traditional student will be introduced to the SUNY Cortland community.
But those aren’t the only inspiring non-traditional students on campus.
The College is accepting nominations for the “Celebrate a Non-Trad” campaign through Wednesday, Nov. 12. The campaign gives campus community members an opportunity to recognize students who balance college with their major commitments through certificate and campus-wide recognition.
The College defines its non-traditional undergraduate students as those who are at least 24 years old or have had an interruption or delay in their education since high school. They also might have dependent children, regardless of their ages. Many work full-time jobs and some have served in the military.
Nomination forms are available online as well as in Advisement and Transition, located in Memorial Library, Room A-111. For more information on Non-Traditional Students Week, contact Cheryl Hines, the coordinator of non-traditional student support, at 607-753-4726.
Approximately 300 non-traditional undergraduates study at SUNY Cortland. Here are just a few of them:
Friday, Nov. 7
Ashlee Prewitt
Ashlee is a people-first person, meaning she constantly puts the needs of others before her own. Her work for the College’s non-traditional student population and the community at large are proof of that.
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| Prewitt |
At 26, she’s younger than many non-traditional students. She doesn’t yet juggle the family commitments that a parent might. With that in mind, Ashlee realizes one of her greatest assets is time.
“Even though I’m younger, I connect well with students who are older,” the political science major says. “I have some extra time that they don’t.”
Guided by her compassion, Ashlee leads the Non-Traditional Student Organization (NTSO) as its president. She’s fearless when it comes to branching out and trying new things, having moved to Cortland from Oklahoma without knowing a single person or anything about the area.
And her efforts don’t stop with the NTSO. Ashlee also is a champion for civic engagement. She wants to pursue a graduate degree in public administration after she graduates. And this spring, she’s organizing a major campus-wide community service project known as the Big Event.
“It’s way of being thankful for the community where we live,” she says.
Thankfully, the College has students like Ashlee.
Thursday, Nov. 6
Angela Gustafson
Angela still remembers playing for hours outside of the Dowd Fine Arts Center as a young girl. The granddaughter of Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences John Gustafson, she spent plenty of time during her childhood on the College’s campus.
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| Gustafson |
“I practically grew up at SUNY Cortland,” Angela says. “But I never thought for a second that I’d go here.”
For a long time, she was correct. Angela attended community college on and off after graduating from high school, eventually earning an associate’s degree in office technology and administrative management from Monroe Community College. She soon settled into an office job but felt underutilized as a secretary. She knew she needed a change.
“I told myself, ‘This isn’t my passion. I need to be doing something different,’” she says.
Decades after playing games on the SUNY Cortland campus, Angela studies as an economics major set to graduate in December. And she does it as a single mother of four children between the ages of 8 and 18, the oldest being a college freshman herself. So when her kids need a role model for stick-to-itiveness, they need to look no further than their mom.
“As an older student, I think I’m more prepared to take things seriously,” says Angela, who also finds time to serve as the treasurer of the Non-Traditional Student Organization and an academic tutor for 300-level macroeconomics. “I think I’ve come a long way.”
Wednesday, Nov. 5
Joseph Marturano
Joseph grew up as a teenager in Taylor, N.Y., a town on the eastern edge of Cortland County with a population that barely scrapes 500. But he brought a vast worldview when he began his studies at SUNY Cortland in 2013. At 31, the third-generation U.S. Navy sailor already has visited more countries than many people will see in a lifetime.
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| Marturano |
He served more than five years as an electronics technician — touring London, Scotland, parts of the Middle East and the Caribbean — then took his skills to California for a job repairing computer parts and electronics. The work, however, wasn’t as intellectually stimulating as traveling the world. So he decided to make a change.
“I was burnt out from fixing things, at least professionally,” Joseph says. “I wanted to get back to my creative side.”
He’s found that creative streak and plenty more as a new media design major at the College. He’s the Student Government Association representative for the Art Exhibition Association. He fulfilled his foreign language requirement with a transformative trip to Mexico through the International Programs Office. This spring, Joseph will create the promotional postcard for the Student Select art exhibition.
He still maintains computer repair knowledge, fixing his own equipment when necessary. And after graduating in May, he hopes use his creativity to land a design services job working “on the other side of the computer,” as he puts it.
Tuesday, Nov. 2
Darlene Endy
Darlene Endy wants moms with college aspirations to know that it’s never too late to chase them. If anything, they likely have perfected the arts of time management and multi-tasking to bring back to school.
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| Endy |
Darlene, for example, always dreamed of becoming an artist. But for many years, concerns about practicality kept those ambitions grounded. She still discovered success as most people would define it — serving in the U.S. Army, raising healthy triplets with her husband and establishing a career as a registered dietician.
That childhood dream, however, never went away. So when her own children grew up and after her husband retired, she went back to school to chase it. Today, Darlene is a driven art and art history major developing a robust portfolio. And she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“People my age feel life is set,” she says. “And it’s not.”
Non-traditional students may not have the endurance or the same amount of free time as a teenager, but they have meaningful life experiences and helpful compensatory skills, she says. And not only has Darlene produced quality artwork; she’s developed a creative mindset to tap in other areas of her life.
Darlene isn’t just an inspiration for women her age; she’s a model for all lifelong learners to follow.
Monday, Nov. 1
Sheila Shea
Career changes rarely come easy. They often require equal doses of passion and perseverance. Luckily, Sheila exudes both. That’s why she’s been able to do it more than once.
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| Shea |
“This is career number three for me,” the childhood education major says. “I did the ‘youth passion’ thing. I did the ‘money’ thing. Now, I’m doing the ‘giving back’ thing.”
The California native’s first paid acting gig came at age 17, so theatre was her first love. She later found success as a business analyst at a New York City tech company. But after wearing down from a fast-paced city life, she sought fulfillment. That led her to teaching and to SUNY Cortland at the suggestion of her husband, who grew up in Ithaca.
“I taught theatre early on and I think it stuck with me,” Sheila says. “When we moved, I jumped in with both feet.”
The school game is different with a young family and an 11-month-old son, she says. So are her priorities. At the College, however, she’s found a support network in the Non-Traditional Student Organization. Sheila even found time to take on the leadership roles, as a past president and vice president of the student group.
That feat, however, shouldn’t come as much of a surprise — especially for someone who’s been able to manage a pair of career changes with relative ease.