Reasons for Returning to School

My reasons to return to school this year are many. I was, for many years, a truck driver hauling many different commodities we use in everyday life. It was a rewarding job in the past, but as time and today's changes in the economy took a downward spiral, I had to decide my future and my career choices wisely. So, since I wanted to succeed and accomplish the goals that I always wanted to achieve, I decided to go back to school.

Deciding to go back to school is a major challenge for me, but if I want a stable career, it's the only thing that makes sense in today's world and its challenges. There are lots of opportunities out in the job market as a truck driver, but I have decided that school is the best thing for my future and the new career I have chosen. There are easier things I could have chosen to do, but I like learning now more than I did when I was a student at Boyd County High School back in 1974-76. I learned a valuable lesson the hard way. Now I have to learn from that and go on and never give up on my expectations.

Furthermore, as a truck driver for many years, I always had the drive to learn something new every day. Every time I read something that pertained to the job I was doing, I learned new things, so I was in certain circumstances learning. So school is something I have been doing but in a different form or environment. For example, reading log books or paper work related to the job I was doing at the time of employment were things I could not have accomplished without school and its rewards from the past.

So, I decided to take my career to a new level and further my education. I can use my past experience as a truck driver in my new career that I wish to achieve when I get out of school. I plan to use my school degree and experience as a truck driver to achieve this goal that I have set for myself. My new career that I have chosen at this time is to be a D.O.T. officer in Kentucky. A D.O.T. officer's job is to check commercial trucks that travel through the state of Kentucky. They do road patrols and check for safety violations and things that might be unsafe to the general public and the drivers who operate them.

Finally, my choice to go back to school at this time in my life will be an investment that I think will be worth the time and effort I put forth to achieve my new career and life style. My past experiences have made me realize that if anyone wants to achieve things in life, you have to put an effort into your goal and never give up, no matter how many times you have a setback in life. Never quit learning; it will carry you a long way in life. Look out in the world today and look at all the things and wonders that we have because of school and learning. So this has inspired me to go back to school and become a D.O.T. officer and make my career choice a reality.

Robert Rigsby

My Need to Return to School

Ever since I was 12 years old our family had a grocery store business. Some memories are great; others are not. I will always remember the first day the store opened. Mother went to the store at 7:00 that morning and didn’t return until 9:30 at night. I missed her being at home. Mother did this for many years; 7 days a week. Since she wasn’t at home to do the things around the house I got to do them. I remember feeling like I had so much responsibility and my friends had an easy life. I can only imagine how my mother felt.

My younger brother worked with my mother. I took over after he quit. My son helped me with the business. The store provided a good living. The only problem was our lives always centered on work. We never took vacations together because some family member had to be there. Financially our business did great for many years, but all good things come to an end. The famous Wal-Mart came to town. People always go where the best price is. No matter how loyal they said they would be to us; they bought most of their groceries at Wal-Mart.

All of our employees were part-time. Putting up with all of their problems can really take a toll on you. Business was slowing down and I needed to lay everyone off. I really didn’t know what to do. We talked the situation over one night after work. My husband knew I was tired of the store. I was working 50 hours a week and missing a lot of life. We decided to close the store. It was a very difficult decision to make.

I drew my unemployment for a while and applied for many jobs, but no one called me for a job, or even an interview. In the meantime I did things around the house I had needed to do for years. I went to Bible studies and enjoyed my grandchildren.

On a recent visit to the unemployment office for a review a lady asked me if I would like to return to college. When I got home I started thinking about it. The next day I called and made a appointment to talk with a adviser. They told me about the program they offered. It seemed like a great opportunity to go to college. Hopefully now after I go to college I can work at a job that I truly enjoy. I had always contributed to our household income and that had ended. Consequently I needed to get in this program.

Currently I’m preparing for the Compass Test. For this reason I’m coming to the Adult Learning Center. I have been out of school for 39 years and I get nervous thinking of going back. My goal is to be a nurse. This career choice will require a lot of hard work. If this is the Lord’s will for me; it will happen!