I am taking college classes again. I suppose it wasn’t fun enough the first time, so I’m getting a second Bachelor’s degree and plan to get a Master’s after that. Thankfully, this time around I don’t have to worry about living in the dorm or what’s going to be served in the dining hall (although the food at Maranatha was, by and large, really good. And I’m not just saying that because my wife was the cook).
Am I crazy?
Why would I go back to college when I already have a full-time job (which happens to incorporate two other full-time jobs)? Well, it is not because I have nothing else to do. An opportunity has been graced to me that I don’t believe would be wise to overlook.
How is this possible?
When my great-aunt passed away in 1989, she was generous enough to set up a trust fund for myself, my brothers, and some other people with the intent of providing funds for higher education. I took advantage of this in part during my undergraduate study. I also started to use it for grad classes, but during my first semester my wife and I moved to Illinois and began the ministry that we currently have.
My grandfather, Bill Post, was the executor of the trust. He passed away two years ago, which was a sad time for me. After that, his lawyer became the executor of the trust and it was made known that funds would be there for all of the beneficiaries until my youngest brother turned 25. Well, that’s a few years from now and my mom encouraged me to take advantage of the opportunity.
Where am I going?
So I started looking at many different options. I needed to find a full-time school that was accredited. I didn’t wish to quit working, so I needed to find something that would work with my schedule. I looked into online classes for ministry training and nothing I found met my qualifications. I looked into classes for musical training, and again, nothing met my qualifications. I looked into classes for technology and found Western Governor’s University.
WGU has a unique approach to online education. Classes are very flexible – you go at your own pace. When life gets busy, you can slow down a bit, and when life is a little slower, you can accelerate your education. They also accepted my credits from Maranatha – I am so glad I went to an accredited college. They also offer industry-recognized certifications.
What am I taking?
For the last year, I have been working on a B.S. in Information Technology – Network Administration. I have earned certifications from CIW, CompTIA and Microsoft. I have 37 units that transferred, 32 completed, currently working on 12 and have 40 to go (7 more classes).
What am I going to do with this education? Well, I have already put many things into practice here at our church and school. Since I have the same (often more) certifications that our old computer techs have, and I don’t charge, I have been able to save us hundreds, if not thousands of dollars for the school. I have implemented learned strategies to save on costs and provide for necessary technology. I have also have met needs for other local churches and individuals. I hope to expand that in the future and see what happens. One step at a time – and I have some other, larger, and more important steps coming in the near future, which I will write about next time.
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