Profiles in Success
by Kim Horvath
Pictured is Kim and daughter, Amelia
My journey to the University of Akron began over fourteen years ago when I graduated from high school. At that time, it was not a given that one would go to college. There were still vocational schools and good paying factory jobs, while decreased in number, were still to be had. Being the daughter of a professor, there was never a question that I would attend college. The question was what I would study.
Armed with a full ride scholarship to the University of Toledo, I began my college career. Unfortunately, like many eighteen-year-olds, I did not have any idea what I wanted to do. Four years and five majors later, I was out of scholarship money and no closer to a degree.
Now married, I moved with my husband to the Chicago area and took classes at an art school downtown. The commute and student loans proved to be too much on our meager salaries, so I switched to a local community college in the suburbs. During this time, I found adequate employment in retail. The hours were long, the pay was marginally acceptable, and benefits were nowhere to be found. Attendance at the community college fell to the wayside with the birth of my first child.
As my son approached a year old, I realized that it was time to make some serious decisions about my family;s future. It wasn’t just about me anymore. I wanted my child to have all of the opportunities that my immigrant parents had worked so hard to afford me. I decided to return to school full time and launched into what I hoped would be my last foray into the realm of higher education. With a young toddler at home and a mortgage to pay, it was difficult to say the least.
Two years, a lot of hard work, and some serious student loan debt later, I graduated with an A.A.S. degree in Veterinary Technology. My family moved back to the northeast Ohio area for family support and a better community within which to raise our son. I found gainful employment and we had another child. Our futures looked bright and settled.
As so often happens in life, this was when the bottom fell out. After working for six years in the veterinary industry, I developed crippling occupational allergies. Three specialists and a serious infection convinced me that I had to abandon the career I loved. Now I had two children, old student loan debt I was still paying off, a lifestyle that depended on two incomes, and a useless degree. After a great deal of discussion and soul searching, I made the difficult decision to return to school once more. Now, I am a junior at the University of Akron majoring in Geology. I plan to seek a job following graduation where I will be doing work involving environmental research and remediation.
While my story is a long one, I have come to realize that it is not all that unusual. Times have changed, and a high school diploma and a single income are often not enough. Many adults in their thirties and beyond are finding themselves in the difficult position of having to return to school to keep or secure employment. With the rising cost of tuition and the dwindling availability of loans and scholarships, it is a daunting task. Mine is no exception. With the loving support of my family, I am working to finish what I hope to be my last degree. They say, however, that you never stop learning!