That's Right, I'm a College Graduate!!

I finally did it! 5 years and 14 days after I said goodbye to BYU and married the man of my dreams, I teetered down the sheer cliff steps of BYU's Marriott Center in my 4" heels, my blue graduation robes swishing noisily around my ankles - I'm quite certain the robes weren't supposed to hang that low, but that's why I was sporting the heels . . .

As the line of blue caps wound up to the stage, I looked at the graduates immediately surrounding me: Mothers, Fathers, Grandmothers - a small section of hard-working, dedicated people who, like me, had to leave school early but who took the opportunity to earn their degrees through BYU's Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) Program.

Somehow, in between work, travel, studying for law exams (true, Matt was the only one who earned his JD, but I somehow managed to learn all about torts, vested remainder, quasi in rem jurisdiction, and the rule against perpetuities), being pregnant, and then having a little baby to care for, I found time to work on my school. Five years, 22 courses, and over 50 credit hours later, I emerged from the Marriott Center with a Bachelors Degree of General Studies - with an Emphasis in Writing.

I have a few very important people who I need to thank for getting me to this status of College Graduate:

My mother who gave me the resolve to finish,

my son who was the motivation behind my resolve,

and my husband who pushed me through to the end.

My mother never had the opportunity to attend college and always stressed to her children the importance of a higher education. She is the reason that, even after I left BYU, I maintained my resolve to earn my degree.

My son Tanner motivated me - even before he was born - to finish my schooling. I thought of him as I sat for hours and hours in front of my computer, reading lesson materials, studying for exams, and writing essays, papers, and stories. I want him to be proud of my accomplishments and I want him to know how important education is to me, so I had to finish for him.

Those who know me well know that I'm really good at procrastinating - and let me tell you, procrastination and online classes really don't go well together. My husband Matt is a wonderful example to me of hard work, dedication, organization, and success. Matt played a vital role in keeping me organized, dedicated, and on track. I owe my success to his helping me set achievable goals and making me stick to those goals until the end.

Here is my plug for the BGS program: I could not have gotten my degree without having the opportunity to finish up my schooling online through BYU's Bachelor of General Studies program. I learned so much from this program. I was able to discipline myself, and to set and keep a schedule in order to complete my classes. I gained a great deal of knowledge and skill from all my writing classes and feel I have grown as a wife, a mother, and an intellectual.