I checked 3 colleges. Two of them wouldn't accept any of my classes from my bachelor's, so I was basically starting from scratch and both required over 45 hours of classes. Really, I needed to be finished in a year, maybe 3 semesters.That 45+ hour thing wasn't working. Then I talked to the college I am in.
After talking to Tara, an amazing advisor, I found out I could have my criminal justic associates in 18 hours, two semesters. From there the doors flew open. My application was zipped through and I was accepted and given registration privileges even before they had my transcripts in hand. Everything I could need just fell right into place. My class schedule even fit WB's perfectly, so transportation was a breeze. Everything was ideal.
Except something didn't feel right.
When I looked at the possible jobs I could get with a CJ degree, I didn't want any of them. I love CJ, love the topics, love the classes. Didn't want a job. So, I texted several friends and asked them to pray and if they heard anything, even a single word, I wanted to know.
In the meantime, I prayed, and I didn't "hear" anything, but I kept feeling like the answer to the next step was there. I kept thinking there was someone there I was supposed to meet, and that person would be key to the next step. Then my friend Patty Baker called and said she felt I was supposed to go because a key piece to the next step was there, that I would meet someone who had the information to the next thing. So, I went to college.
Knowing I needed specific classes to graduate with my associate's in the spring, I signed up for a program that allowed me to register early if I met with an academic advisor and an academic coach. After orientation, I realized all the poeple in that program were my kids' ages, so I emailed the advisor and coach to give them a heads up about me, my background, what I want to do, and my eventual plans. They were amazing! My advisor said she wasn't really sure if they could help me, but she was certainly willing to try. The next email 2 minutes later said, "YOU NEED TO LOOK AT DBU! I don't know your faith basis, they have the perfect program!"
I looked at the programs, and I didn't see anything useful, but Nadia and I set up a meeting for the next week, and during that meeting, she looked and looked but couldn't find the answer. About 30 miutes into the meeting, she said, "I know!", typed in some info, and found it. Professional Development master's program. Life coaching and counseling, non-LPC, focus...trauma. I stared. It was perfect.
That afternoon I called DBU. One week later I was sitting in the office of the PD head. He read through my resume, asked questions, and pulled out the degree plan sheet. When I left, I had a preliminary acceptance, a degree plan, and expected start date of January.
From the time I even knew about the program until I was tentatively accepted and just needed to finish the paper trail...1 week.
And...they are applying some of my graduate level mathematics to my degree plan, so it is fewer hours, and I hated the idea of driving over an hour to class, but as it turns out, most of my counseling classes are actually offered about 30 minutes from me.
Pretty amazingly cool, huh? :-D
