Resolution Worth Keeping: It’s Never Too Late to Earn Your Degree

Thursday, January 09, 2014

Michael Gravison, URI Feinstein Campus

As we ring in the New Year we make resolutions to better ourselves. According to statistics the top resolutions every year include a healthier diet, more active lifestyle, trying new things, and bettering ourselves through education. Learning something new can be as simple as a skill and as serious as a complete education. Whatever the task, it is never too late to earn your degree, and the students at The University of Rhode Island Feinstein Providence campus prove that regardless of age or adversity, a degree is within reach, and with the resources and flexibility in a convenient environment at URI Providence, 2014 will be the year that you commit to that resolution!

Carolina Rodriguez Masjoan is a full time mother and full time Executive Assistant who is working towards a degree in Communications. She discovered the URI Providence campus through the Dr. Pat Feinstein Child Development Center. The CDC is an early learning and child care facility that offers care to the children of students attending URI Providence, and is often paid through scholarship. The pre-school allows her son to learn during the day while she works her full time job downtown. She hopes her degree will take her into a career with developing companies or non-profits where she can utilize her communications skills. The Providence campus and class schedule is not only convenient but it’s an environment where she feels welcome as an adult returning to school, and where her son can begin his educational career as well.

Matthew McFadden was told he probably would not be able to return to school after a stroke changed his life at the age of 17. After five years of rehab he overcame adversity and enrolled in the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies at the Feinstein Providence Campus. The downtown location and flexible class schedules allowed him to focus on recovery. Matthew’s experience led him into a career in healthcare. He presently works at Miriam Hospital, a job for which he has URI Providence to thank. He plans on returning to school for his Master’s “which is great because URI Providence has so many night classes.”

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Stephanie Young is returning to school for the first time since 1980. “I’ve been told many times that I have the experience, but lack the credentials needed to obtain a higher position and higher pay grade,” she says. The 51 year old wife and mother, who has worked for years in HIV/AIDS Prevention and Education, is finally working on her Psychology degree. She hopes to continue her education with her Masters and PhD, and eventually author a psychological study that may be used in the field of health awareness. Going back to school has been a long time coming and being in her 50s Stephanie is fully aware that her choice is unorthodox. “I have made several attempts to return back to school and I have done this at several different locations. URI Providence is very convenient, accommodating, and comfortable. There are many non-traditional students here. I enjoy being in class with people I relate to and are my own age. I should be coming around to the last leg before retirement.” Instead she is going strong passionately pursuing her degree to advance her career while continuing to bring developments to HIV/AIDS prevention and education.

Make 2014 the year you invest in yourself. The University of Rhode Island Feinstein Providence Campus has various undergraduate, graduate, non-degree, and certificate programs that fit any career (Learn more). The flexibility and convenient class schedules and downtown location make it easy for the working adult or parent to return to school for higher education. In addition to Carolina, Matthew, and Stephanie, check out why other students like URI Providence here.

This article was written By Michael Gravison; Graduate Student in Communication Studies at the University of Rhode Island Feinstein Providence Campus. This column is part of an ongoing sponsored content series with The University of Rhode Island Feinstein Providence Campus.

Related Slideshow: Pew Research: New England Employment Figures From FY2007 to FY2013

While unemployment figures receive more media attention, the employment rate is a preferred index for many economists because it provides a sharper picture of changes in the labor market. The unemployment rate, for example, fails to count workers who stopped looking for a job. By focusing on 25- to 54-year-olds, trends are less distorted by demographic effects such as older and younger workers’ choices regarding retirement or full-time education.

Below are the employment rates in FY2007 and FY2013 for New England states as referenced by the Pew Charitable Trust's "Fiscal 50: State Trends and Analysis" Report, ranked from best to worst.