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In 1987, as Vicki Girard was beginning to work toward an associate’s degree at Kellogg Community College, her mom was taking classes alongside her.

“She was working full-time at the time and went back to take some data processing classes,” said Girard.

Now, nearly three decades and a lot of life later, including the death of her husband in 2021, Vicki, a mother of six, is back in school working on a bachelor’s degree. So too is her daughter, Abigail. And like Vicki and her mom, Abigail and Vicki are both attending the same college. This time, ������Ƶ.

Preparing for the next chapter

“I am not working now, still a full-time stay at home mom with one child still living at home and in school, so I’m looking at different opportunities for what I might do in the future,” said Vicki. “I figure most jobs I’d say I’m qualified for still want a bachelor’s degree, so I figure it will make me more employable to complete that degree.”

Vicki is taking advantage of a more recently created degree completion program now offered at Calvin, which provides a pathway for people who have started a degree, but not yet finished it. This pathway allows adult learners, like Vicki, to utilize some or all of the credits they’ve earned previously towards a bachelor’s degree in either Applied Leadership or Human Services.

For Vicki, the pathway was exactly what she was looking for.

Discovering the path forward

“What I liked about it compared to other programs I had been looking at is this program was not all online, there were opportunities to meet in person for some of the classes,” said Vicki. “It was important for me to have more of that personal connection. When chatting online in forums, now you have met the people and that makes the personal connection a little more appealing.”

Vicki lives in Lansing, Michigan, so once a week she drives about an hour each way for a night class on Calvin’s campus. It also gives her an opportunity to connect with her daughter, Abigail, who is studying biochemistry. 

“We have connected almost every Tuesday I’ve been on campus,” said Vicki. “Usually I’m bringing food.”

Taking one step at a time toward graduation

While she’s delivering food to her daughter, she also appreciates the bite-sized nature of the program she is in, especially given the fact it’s been almost 30 years since she was last sitting in a classroom.

“I’m taking one course at a time and those courses are only four or eight weeks each, which makes it much easier to focus on when there are a number of obligations to balance,” said Vicki. “The first class was more geared at getting us back into thinking how to study, introducing us to what technology is out there, which tools to use, and how best to focus. Those are good things to be thinking about again.”

Her second class was focused more on writing, which she says is a skill that has definitely improved since she started the course. She’s already seen the benefits of taking these first two courses as she’s tested the waters and applied for some part-time jobs.

“I do think being back in school and learning new things is going to prove beneficial when I do have an interview,” said Vicki. 

And while Vicki and Abigail discern the exact path ahead for each of them, they can look forward to a special day in a couple of years when they are dressed in black caps and gowns, both graduating in the Class of 2028.