Age
changes college experience at CSULB
By
Annica Sundstrom
Daily Forty-Niner
With several years of work experience and
families to support, many older students
enjoy hitting the books again, even though
their college experience might be somewhat
different.
"It's
never too late to go back to school,"
Ketty Nguyen, a 41-year-old student and
mother of four said. "I have not studied
for about 15 years, but I like it. I feel
more focused today."
Nguyen,
who owned a toy store next to Disneyland,
is now pursuing a career in the field of
psychology. And even though she is older
than most of the students in her classes,
she does not believe age matters.
"I
like to interact with everybody, regardless
of how old they are," Nguyen said.
"Besides, I feel like I'm 21."
However,
Nguyen has noticed some differences between
herself and her younger counterparts. "One
difference is that I don't come to school
to socialize," she said.
Nguyen
also thinks that many younger students tend
to focus too much on being popular at school.
"Some seem to have confused going to
school with participating in a fashion show,"
she said.
Amy
O'Bryant, a journalism major at Cal State
Long Beach, is not the average college student
either. She is 39 years old, married and
has already raised three stepdaughters.
"I
appreciate school so much more now. I am
really here to learn," O'Bryant said.
"When I attended school about 20 years
ago, it was mostly about boys and partying."
According
to the Institutional Research Department
at CSULB, more than 5,200 of the approximately
34,700 students currently enrolled at the
university are over the age of 31. And about
58 percent of these students are women.
O'Bryant,
who graduated from high school in 1982,
has worked as a licensed psych-nurse for
many years and still works on call.
"My
favorite part of nursing is hearing the
stories," O'Bryant said. "It feels
like I have spent my time up until now collecting
stories, and now it is time to tell them."
O'Bryant
will receive her bachelor's degree in journalism
from CSULB in May 2004, at the age of 40.
"Today,
I like it here [at CSULB]." O'Bryant
said.
However,
O'Bryant said she had her doubts in the
beginning. She said when she first got here,
she attended an orientation session, which
turned out to be more of a pep rally. She
said she remembers thinking: "What
have I done?"
Normally,
O'Bryant comes to school to attend her classes
and then she leaves. She said she thinks
CSULB is largely geared toward fresh-out-of
high school students and that the university
does not really offer anything else for
students her age.
Kim
Vinsencius, 31, who is majoring in management
information systems, disagrees somewhat.
"I
think the university has something to offer
all students," he said. Even if student
clubs and other so cial activities often
are more suitable for younger students,
CSULB "offers other happenings, such
as seminars and guest speakers."
Many
professors acknowledge that there are some
general differences between older and younger
students.
Having
students over the age of 30 in the class
often changes its dynamic, said Sara Smith,
professor in psychology at CSULB.
"Older
students tend to have more life experience,
they have worked and traveled" and
their participation in class discussions
is often beneficial for the entire class,
Smith said.
One
difference between older and younger students
is that the older ones "often tend
to look at their classes from a more long
term perspective," journalism professor
Genelle Belmas said. "My experience
is that they are generally more concerned
about what they will learn in the class
than about the grade they will get."
Many
professors, including Smith and Belmas,
enjoy teaching classes that are diverse
in terms of age.
"A
class with both younger and older students
is the optimal," Belmas said.
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