Trying to fit in – Non-traditional students

The clock strikes 9:30 pm as they tiptoe down the stairs, the house silent after the last child finally drifts off to sleep.

They scarf down a power snack as they log onto Canvas and slip back into their role as a college student. Not quite half an hour into homework, their super-sonic parent hearing detects a baby crying upstairs. Returning to the computer, they bounce a restless infant on their knee while bouncing back into an essay.

An expectant mother kicks back with her craving of choice, pickles and ice cream, to review some flashcards for an upcoming test. All the while, tiny feet are vying for the mother’s attention with constant, lively kicks.

A woman with grown children scrolls through Facebook, doting on her grandchildren’s latest photos, afterward she scrolls through an online journal, gathering research for her upcoming report.

This is a glimpse into the lives of non-traditional students. The Access and Diversity Center at Utah State University defines a non-traditional student as any student who meets one or more of the following criteria: is over 25 years old, has gaps in their education, has life experience outside of school, has a family, has a committed partner or spouse or has dependents.

Non-traditional students often feel they are treated differently than most students, simply due to their differing stages of life. Some non-traditional students also report that people are hesitant to talk to them, perhaps assuming they do not need friends. In an attempt to break the silence, three non-traditional students tell their stories.

Rachel Dawson, an undeclared sophomore, is expecting a baby boy in April. She lives in Aggie Village with her husband, Sam. The couple is eagerly planning the little one’s arrival, putting together the nursery and shopping for every baby necessity. While having a baby will change their lifestyle dramatically, Rachel still sees graduation on the horizon. Some of her professors, she jokes, sort of poke fun at Rachel, pointing her out during lessons involving child development, with which she plays along.

She also has a feeling some of her instructors question why she is there, knowing she will be having a baby in the middle of the semester. Rachel has a plan, though. To allow planning for the baby, she is taking only nine credits this semester. Close family will also be helping with the baby and Rachel plans on taking the summer to adjust to being a parent.

Come fall, Rachel says she will return to school full-time. Her husband, Sam, has flexible work hours, so he will be able to stay with the baby while Rachel is at school. She will also take time off from her job at Deseret Industries. With her degree, she hopes to work in the day-care program.

Despite Rachel’s determined attitude, some friends of hers are still skeptical.

“I had one friend who said that the moment you get pregnant, you can kiss your degree goodbye,” she said.

But, she said, continuing school after having a baby is not for everyone.

“You have to want it,” she said.

Lance Allgaier is an undergraduate in his second year of mechanical engineering. Along with his schooling, Lance juggles three children and his job at Biomat. Allgaier has been attending Utah State University for two years, and had previously studied at Utah Valley University where he earned his Associate’s of Science.

When asked how he keeps up with all of his responsibilities, Allgaier’s six-year-old, Everett, chimed in, “Uh, my mom!”

Lance’s wife of five years, April, stays home with their three playful children.

Lance has not noticed if fellow students treat him differently due to his being a non-traditional student. Although, he admits he doesn’t typically have much interaction with other students in class because he feels they don’t have much common ground.

“I’m in class with a lot of 20-something, single students,” he said, “and they’re talking about dating and hanging out and I just can’t relate.”

His out-of-class time tends to be limited on campus, as he is usually working or spending time with his children when class is over.

With his degree, Lance hopes to go into the field of robotics. He is considering shifting his focus to electrical engineering, as he is interested in applying his knowledge of robotics to work with innovating prosthetics.

Lance said his classes have “at times” been accommodating to his family situation. As he furthers in his program, he finds many of the upper-level courses are only available when he is working. UVU, he said was more accommodating and offered more night classes, which fit better around his schedule.

“Every time a new semester rolls around I have that same thought of, ‘Why am I doing this, again?’” Lance said.  

For him, priorities are based on input and output. He tries to put his studies into perspective by asking questions such as “what am I going to get out of it if I put more into it?” Or will he get as good of a return by putting more time into a degree than by spending time with family or get a career that doesn’t require a four-year degree?

“Everyone knows that obvious answer is that you get more out of a degree, but I’m sometimes skeptical of that,” Lance said with a laugh.

Cathy Gottschalk is a senior studying family and consumer sciences. Gottschalk started her schooling at age 17 in Southern California. After some time in college, she decided to pause her schooling to earn some extra money. Later, she married and had two children.

After a divorce, she decided to return to school and take night classes. After a couple of years of night school, she moved to USU. In 1997, soon after she started at USU, she found out she was expecting a baby and had to drop out of school. Gottschalk was only 12 credits shy of a degree in sociology.

After raising her daughter, she returned to online school. Because of the university’s policy, almost all of Gottschalk’s credits had expired and she had to start again from scratch. This did not keep Gottschalk from pursuing her goal. She is now back on the USU campus, about to graduate with an FCHD degree.

When asked if other students treated her differently because she is a non-traditional student, she said, “No, they really stay away from me. Because I’m older, they don’t think I’ve lived this life already. They look and I just wave and smile and move on.”

Gottschalk said she does have some good friends that she made last semester, but generally, most people don’t talk to her. After having several gaps in education, Gottschalk admits she had gotten out of the habit of studying, which was hard for her get used to again. She doesn’t retain information as well as she used to, so she sometimes has to cram for tests.
“It’s just all-around harder,” she said.

Gottschalk also inspired a friend of hers to go back to school.

“If you can do it, I can do it,” her friend said.

Although she is older, Gottschalk does not expect any perks and prefers to be treated the same as other students. Some professors have offered to let her turn in work late, but she refuses because she does not feel she is entitled to special treatment.

With her degree, Gottschalk plans on wor
king in hospice or memory care in an assisted living facility. This desire was prompted from her experience helping her father as he was passing away, as well as caring for her elderly mother who has dementia.

She plans to walk in the graduation ceremony at the end of the semester and begin her practicum in the summer either at the Legacy House or the Gables in Logan, working in memory care.

Finally getting her degree “feels good and weird at the same time. I didn’t think I would ever get it done, really,” she said.

To other students in her position, she gives the advice, “It’s never too late.”

— melodyj300@gmail.com

@melodyj300