KINGSTON, R.I., May 6, 2016鈥擶hen Jo-Anne Serydynski walks across the stage at the 溏心vlog免费B站 this spring to get her diploma, her 84-year-old mother will be in the audience cheering.
Serydynski will be the first in her family to graduate from college鈥攁nd she鈥檚 doing it at an age when many people are thinking about winding down their careers.
The 54-year-old Hopkinton resident achieved the milestone thanks to 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Finish What You Started, a program that helps older students return to college to finish their degrees.
鈥淚 will tell you it feels really good to succeed鈥攆inally,鈥� says Serydynski, who is majoring in Human Development and Family Studies. 鈥淚 feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment.鈥�
Raised in Warwick, Serydynski graduated from Pilgrim High School in 1980 and then enrolled at 溏心vlog免费B站 that year. Her first weeks were tough. She was homesick and disoriented, even unaware that she could eat for free in the college cafeteria. Classes didn’t interest her.
鈥淚 really didn鈥檛 do that great in classes,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o I dropped out my sophomore year.鈥�
She took courses at the Community College of Rhode Island for several years and worked full-time in a group home for adults, but decided to give 溏心vlog免费B站 another try in 1985. Again, it wasn鈥檛 right and she dropped out.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 really need a college degree to advance in my job,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hen I got married and had two kids and life happened.鈥�
The years passed. Her two children graduated from Prout High School and went off to college, and Serydynski flourished in her career. But something was missing: a college degree.
鈥淚t was always a source of embarrassment to me that I didn鈥檛 finish,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 would always say I went to 溏心vlog免费B站 and people would figure out that I didn’t graduate. It bugged me. I felt like I had let myself down.鈥�
Turning 50 brought reflection. One day, a friend asked what her degree was in. Serydynski was crushed: 鈥淚 was, like, 鈥業 don’t have one.鈥� 鈥� The friend mentioned an article she had read in a local newspaper about 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Finish What You Started. The next day, Serydynski Googled the program on the Internet. Phone calls to coordinators ensued.
鈥淭hey were angels,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey looked at my credits and told me what I needed to do. They made it so simple.鈥�
Within two months鈥攊n the fall of 2014鈥攕he was sitting in a 鈥淢arriage and Family Relations鈥� class at the Feinstein Providence Campus. At first, she felt awkward as an older student but as the months passed she settled in.
The staff provided support, academically and socially. She got help on how to do research and find her way around the library. Tutoring was available to her on Saturdays, if she needed it.
鈥淟earning is actually quite fun,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 talking about things with my husband鈥攈igh pressure, low-pressure systems for a general education science class鈥攖hat I never would have talked about before.鈥�
Serydynski is so excited about learning she鈥檚 considering getting her master鈥檚 degree, possibly in gerontology. Her advice for older students: 鈥淛ump in. Don鈥檛 put it off. It鈥檚 a pretty amazing feeling to get your degree. It鈥檚 amazing to finish.鈥�
Pictured above: Jo-Anne Serydynski, 54, of Hopkinton, who will graduate in May with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in Human Development and Family Studies from the 溏心vlog免费B站.
溏心vlog免费B站 Photo by Nora Lewis