Returning Student Profiles
Hannah Stephens
"The decision to return to Indiana University to finish my degree was not an easy one to make. Thanks to the support of my fiance (who has recently become my husband!) and my family, I will be finishing this year. Another factor in making this experience possible was the maturity that I returned to Indiana University with. I feel that this helped me look at my professors differently. They are not as intimidating to me as they were when I was just out of high school. I have come to see them as peers who share my interests and who would like me to explore those interests from their points of view. The Continuing Studies staff has been the most helpful to me. They are always available to answer my questions and to help me anyway they can. Even if my advisor is unavailable, I can always find someone in the office who can help me out. They have made my experiences less frightening by being more helpful and supportive. Since I am close to finishing my degree, I have a lot of elective courses to take and I have found wonderful classes just by asking them for ideas and talking to my Continuing Studies peers who are always studying in the lounge. My second time at Indiana University has been wonderful. This has been an experience I will never forget."
Katrina W. Ladwig
"When I left IU in the middle of my senior year, I always knew I would someday return and finish my degree. The General Studies Degree program gave me the flexibility that I needed to do just that, even while working full time and caring for my family. Without my degree, I would not have the earning power or the career that I have today. The General Studies Degree program allowed me to fit school into my life, and now my life is better for it."
John Burgoon
"After 14 years away from school, I worried if my classes were out of date. Also, I was intimidated by being so much older and less tech-savvy than the younger students on campus. I chose General Studies as a way to ease myself back into academic life and, to my delight, realized that it offered me a friendly, flexible way to finish my studies in a way customized by me. I took a variety of classes and finished my degree over a period of several semesters. What I found was that instead of being "an old guy", in fact, students of all ages are in classes. The younger students appreciated my experience, and the older students identified with me, too. I could not have had a better experience! The best part of finishing my Bachelor's degree was that I discovered the marvelous developments in network science and was able to join the MIS program in the School of Library and Information Science. My BGS degree launched me straight toward a new career in Information Science! I would not have known about IU's wonderful graduate program in SLIS if I had not come back to finish my degree. Now I not only can proudly show my four children my diploma, but we compete for best grades each semester."
Gina Forest
"I wanted to prove to myself, and set an example for my two sons, that I could earn a college degree! You can make it happen with hard work and help from IU Bloomington Continuing Studies."
Dawna Drake
"There is truly a unity, a togetherness, in the IU General Studies degree program. I spend most of my time between classes at the Returning Student Services because it offers me amazing support and guidance."
Terrance Adams
"As a returning student, I find that the flexibility in class schedules, the availability of professors, and accommodations for personal needs have been the main reasons to continue my education at IU Bloomington."
Charlotte Smith
"I was able to take classes that both fulfilled my General Studies degree requirements AND also directly benefited me in my job."
Nastassia Belton
“I chose the General Studies degree program because it lets me explore many different career options.”
Lynda Curson
“With three children, multiple careers, and a collection of home addresses, my college education has occasionally been on a ‘back burner’, but always simmering. Such is my rationale for a 25 year span to earn my Bachelor’s degree. Though it has taken half of my life, it has been a most mentally stimulating and invigorating quarter of a century, and time well spent. While life happened with its changes and detours, I continued to make college plans with one constant being my insatiable desire to learn.”
James Barrow
“The reason I chose the General Studies Degree Program, there was no hassle to enroll in the program, and I was able to maximize the use of my existing credit hours from other universities.”
Kevin Harper
“I chose Indiana University’s General Studies Degree program because the career I had was leading me nowhere. I know I have a lot to offer and the best place to start is a world class education. Indiana University is the best place I know to get that.”
Thomas Greenwood
“I’m making myself over. Learning and strengthening skills that I’ve had my whole life. I feel welcome here with new friends and so much yet to accomplish.”
Joy Hanford
“General Studies gives me the freedom to pursue a more rounded area of study than a lot of the other departments on campus. I also like the accommodations they make for students that study on top of their 40 hour work week.”
Roy Durnal
“I chose the General
Studies degree program because the degree requirements allowed me the
opportunity to explore a wide variety of different classes in the subjects that
interested me the most, and all the credits counted toward my degree.”
Jim Sims
“Being an older non-traditional and returning student, who had to maintain full time employment in order to support my family, created severe obstacles to meeting my goal of completing my Indiana University degree. Thankfully, the School of Continuing Studies BGS Degree program allowed me the flexibility to earn a Bachelors Degree! I sincerely appreciate and value the chance to dialogue and build diverse relationships with other students, the ability to further develop my critical thinking skills and the enhancement of career upward mobility opportunities. I strongly encourage IU employees to investigate this opportunity which can enable them to continue working and get their degree simultaneously!”
