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Recovery in the News
Back to the books: Community colleges help older students pursue life goals
Larry Muhammad
The Courier-Journal
September 10, 2006
A high school dropout who got his GED at age 26, Tony Thornton spent the next 20 years doing menial jobs and abusing alcohol and drugs. He was strung out on crack until a rehab program saved his life.
And then he decided to go back to school.
I wasn't sure of my educational skills," said Thornton, 49, "and felt I needed to get a grasp of the system and see if I could make it. So last year I went to Jefferson Community and Technical College."
It hasn't been easy. He works full time as assistant resident manager at Beacon House Residential Aftercare, a transitional facility for recovering addicts and alcoholics, and has been sober himself for three years.
"In college, I struggled at first, failed a class and was almost ready to quit," he said.
But so far he's maintained a 2.5 GPA and is determined to get an associate degree in human services next year, apply those credits toward a bachelor's in psychology and finally become a certified drug and alcohol counselor.
"Some of the advisers at JCTC are encouraging me," he said. "I went back and passed the course that I failed, and the whole environment is very supportive. The instructors have been real instrumental in keeping me here."
Thornton isn't the typical student at Jefferson Community and Technical College, one of 16 institutions in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System.
But as a so-called "non-traditional" student, he is one of thousands in the state who don't pursue a degree straight after high school, and sometimes 10 to 20 years later find the community college system the perfect way to continue their education.
Dr. Keith Bird, chancellor of Kentucky's community and technical colleges, said, "I've been involved at the university level with part-time students, and many more years in the college level, but I don't know what 'non-traditional' students are anymore. The average age of KCTCS students is 27 years old.
"For many people, it's a question of access, of being place-bound. Older students are working, so they need to be fairly close to college, and we are blessed to have a community college facility within 30 minutes of every Kentuckian. People can drop in, get the education they want to get into the work force as quickly and economically as possible, and then roll those credits into a baccalaureate degree."
Another route
Georgetown resident Christopher Kuharik, a development engineer at Lexmark International, accomplished something similar at Bluegrass Community and Technical College -- but he did it backwards.
He already had a bachelor's in mechanical engineering from the University of Kentucky and a job designing gas fireplaces, when he was laid off in 2002. A year later, he enrolled in the machine tool program at Bluegrass.
"Engineering school taught the math and theory behind making things, but the machine tool program taught me how things are actually made," said Kuharik, 29.
"Knowing this enables me to design components and systems for ease of manufacture. I just think about how I would want to machine it, and design it accordingly. It proved such a useful set of skills that Lexmark offered me a job before I even graduated.
"And having the UK degree, I kind of knew the gaps in my knowledge, for example, precision measurement techniques that they teach at Bluegrass Tech," he said. "Every engineer should know how to measure their own parts, but a lot of younger engineers are dependent on sending it out to have it done, and it takes a couple of days.
"I can go upstairs, get out my height gauge and surface plate and do it in five minutes."
Across the state
Lexington-based Bluegrass Community and Technical College, which was formed in 2005 following consolidation of Central Kentucky Technical College and Lexington Community College, is another of the colleges in the KCTC System.
The KCTC System of schools includes 65 campuses throughout the state and has 81,000 students enrolled this fall. It offers customized workforce training; certificate, degree and diploma programs; and continuing education in flexible course schedules.
Students can study in an array of disciplines including physics, history, literature, nursing, civil engineering, computer science, geography, philosophy, real estate, welding, auto body technology, engineering, carpentry and dozens more.
They can go to school at night or on weekends, or take classes online, and credits earned in the associate of arts or sciences programs at any of the colleges transfer directly to four-year public institutions in Kentucky toward bachelor's degrees.
Working it out
Mayfield resident Chrystal Bowmaster, 27, is a sophomore at West Kentucky Community and Technical College. She said, "I knew going in I wanted a four-year degree, but it wasn't until I enrolled that I realized how I would get it."
Born in Virginia, she went to work in retail right after high school, moved to Kentucky and eventually ran a chain bookstore in Paducah, but she was transferred to West Virginia. "I was working 80 hours a week and really had no options," she said. "Moving up to district manager would require a degree. I felt that to get from under working my knuckles to the bone, I needed an education."
She quit her job and now works part time at a pizza restaurant but is one semester away from an associate in arts, and next year will transfer to Murray State University for a bachelor's in philosophy. Her goal is a law degree and to practice in Kentucky.
"It's different when I watch people younger than me, people fresh out of high school," she said. "Older students tend to take education more seriously, tend to see this as a chance to get a better job, whereas a lot of the younger students seem to be doing it out of obligation.
"If it wasn't for my bullheadedness, I could have done this when I was 19 or 20, and maybe I took it for granted. Now I realize it's a great thing to take advantage of. My first year, I had a 4.0, and it was fun. I feel like a kid again."
Reporter Larry Muhammad can be reached at (502) 582-7091.
Copyright 2005 The Courier-Journal.