Deborah Sprague was too busy working and raising two boys to worry about finishing her degree -- until the work dried up in early 2010. A program management and communications professional with extensive experience in marketing and volunteer organizing, Sprague found her job search frustrating. Her years of consulting (even for well-known clients including AARP) weren't enough. The lack of a bachelor's degree held her back.
Sprague spoke with About.com to reflect on her decision to finish her degree and her choice of the University of Massachusetts University Without Walls degree completion program.
About.com: What college experience did you have before choosing to go to UMASS University Without Walls?
Deborah Sprague: Right after high school I went to a local community college, Holyoke Community College, and got my associate's there in Early Childhood Education. I went to school full-time and I worked part-time. Right before I graduated, I got married and moved to New Hampshire. My hopes for continuing my education were altered a bit. I thought I would finish here in New Hampshire, going to UNH, and then I got pregnant, had a baby, and two years later had another baby. Before I knew it I was working full-time and had a family. I built a successful career while raising two active boys and took classes over the years in hopes of finding my true path.
About.com: What made you decide to go back to college?
Deborah Sprague: Going back to school was something that had been on my mind for some time, as I always regretted never finishing my undergraduate degree. In 2010, I lost my job and soon realized that finding a job based on my experience and reputation was not enough -- I needed to go back to college. I had the time to commit to going back to school, and I really wanted to go back and finish in a timely manner, and I wanted to finish at a reputable college.
The good news is that I now know what I want to study, my kids are on their own, and I have the time to make this a reality within the next year. To put an extra layer of complexity on it, I'm in transition -- I'm in New Hampshire part of the time and I'm in New York City part of the time, so I needed to have something that was as flexible as my schedule.
About.com: What has been your biggest challenge?
Deborah Sprague: I was expecting a big challenge in going back to school, but it has really been manageable. I'm still very busy with volunteer work, commuting from New York to New Hampshire, and I do a few consulting jobs, so balancing my own expectations of what I want to put into each course of is probably the biggest challenge. UMASS UWW is perfect for helping me balance it all, and I wish I had done this years earlier.
I treat this like any other experience, where I create a schedule for myself every week, and I know what days I'm going to really spend time on my school work and what projects I need to do. Fitting it all in is probably the biggest challenge. The actual online learning has not been a challenge -- it's been an easy environment to get up to speed in. I was really surprised by how much I actually liked it and how engaging it really is.
About.com: What has surprised you most about going back to school at the University of Massachusetts UWW program?
Deborah Sprague: I think the biggest surprise was that once I started having conversations with other students, which is part of the course content, where you have discussions...the biggest surprise to me was that I wasn't alone. Going back to school has really lifted my spirits and has given me more confidence. Losing your job can be a depressing experience, especially when you can't apply for positions that you know you have the experience to do because you don't meet the education requirements.
My work and life experiences position me to be a better student than I was out of high school. I'm not alone; so many of my classmates are in situations similar to mine and we all learn from each other - it's comforting.
Sprague, like 50 percent of UMASS UWW graduates, plans to pursue a master's degree after completing her bachelor's degree.