Graduation!

The end has finally arrived...I graduated from NIU on 5/12/12!

It is very difficult to put into words what graduation day meant to me.  The past five years have been quite a challenge and the last semester was definitely the most challenging of all.  I had 17 credit hours, plus an internship, and I stayed at a friend's house near campus two days a week to save on driving.  I averaged 4 hours of sleep per night during the past 4 months.  Quite honestly, I am not sure how I survived!  The only thing that kept me going was knowing it was the end of the road.  Although it was sheer insanity, I feel that I learned more this last semester than in the past five years combined.  Between my internship and my mesoscale meteorology class, I finally feel confident in my forecasting skills and ready to enter the real world as a legit meteorologist.

The graduation ceremony was nice.  I tried to really take it all in and enjoy every second.  My husband and kids were there, as well as my friend Heather (the one who was nice enough to let me basically live in her house half the week this entire semester, and who has been my saving grace on many occasions throughout my time at NIU).  I definitely felt the absence of my parents.  I know my dad would have been proud of me for finally finishing my degree, since I butchered things so badly the first time I went to college when he was paying for it.  A piece of them was with me though; my dad and stepmom bought me a dress for my birthday a few years ago that I never had an opportunity to wear, so I wore it for graduation.  It felt amazing to walk across that stage and get my diploma (ok, diploma cover...the real one comes in the mail sometime later this summer).  When I walked off the stage, Dr. Changnon (the chair of the meteorology department) was right there to congratulate me.  He's been a mentor to me since before I even transferred to NIU.  He is one of the few professors I've met throughout this journey who genuinely cares about each and every student and will do anything to help us succeed.  

The toughest part about graduation was leaving my friends.  I guess I thought I would be immune to that part of college, since I commute and I'm older, but with so few people in the meteorology program you really do get close to many of your classmates.  This last semester was especially challenging and when you're trying to struggle through tough classes, age doesn't matter.  We're all on the same playing field academically and we had to collaborate in order to survive.  We are all disappointed that we didn't start hanging out with each other sooner, since we'd essentially been sitting together in the same room for two years.  A bunch of us started going out for dinner and drinks every Wednesday after our night class, and those are the times I will miss most of all.  It felt so good to relax with everyone for awhile after a 12 hour day each week. Thankfully, many of us live in the Chicago area and have vowed to get together once every week or two.  I hope we can stay committed to that because it's very strange not having these people as a daily part of my life anymore.  

As far as job prospects, I'm trying!  Being tied down to the Chicago area is a huge disadvantage.  With my husband finally having a secure job and my kids being the ages they are, there's no way I can relocate for an entry level job at this point.  I also have to be careful how far I'm willing to travel for a job, because both of our vehicles have been beat to death by my commute for the past two years and honestly cannot take anymore.  I'm hoping to find something in downtown Chicago so I can take the train and forgo driving altogether.  I'm still trying to get my foot in the door at a wind/solar energy company, even if it isn't specifically a meteorology position, because that is truly where my passion lies.  

For now, I am trying to wind down and enjoy summer.  Catching up on sleep has been absolutely heavenly.   I thought the bags under my eyes were permanent!  I still have dreams about a test I forgot to take, an assignment I forgot to turn in, or something else I forgot to do for school.  It always takes awhile at the end of the semester for my mind to relax, and I'm sure it will take even longer since school is truly over forever.  I'm having a hard time adjusting to being a housewife again right now.  I've been a full-time student for five years and it's very strange that it's over.  I feel kind of displaced.  All my friends that graduated with me are in their twenties and have their whole lives ahead of them; it's odd not to be in the same place after we all went through the exact same journey together. It will be an adjustment.  At least I still have my internship through July so my brain will get a little exercise.  And hopefully my body will get some exercise too, because I haven't been very nice to it for the past year.  Eating right and exercising have gone to hell in a handbasket.  I need to get healthy again.  As soon as I get off this couch.

10 Down, 1 to Go!

Hard to believe it, but I've now completed 10 semesters and just have one more to go!  The semester I just completed went really well.  I had Weather Dynamics I (atmospheric thermodynamics), Remote Sensing of the Environment, Tropical Hazards, and Advanced Synoptic Meteorology.  I ended up with three A's and one B.  The B was in Weather Dynamics.  That class was pretty tough; I got a D on my first test and learned very quickly that it was going to require more time than I was used to giving to my other meteorology classes.  After that first disastrous test, I made sure I understood everything along the way as we were learning it in class.  I bugged the TA a lot, asked lots of questions to the kids in class that were doing exceptionally well, went to the professor's office hours, and continually improved.  So I'll take that B!  The craziest part of the semester was that I had three huge research papers (10-14 pages each) due the same week at the end.  I haven't had to write a research paper in two years so to do three at once was pretty insane.  Strange how that worked out.  To my knowledge, I don't have any to do for next semester's classes.  


Next semester is going to be insane.  I have Weather Dynamics II, Engineering Physics II (something that has to do with circuits and electricity), Mesoscale Meteorology, and Regional Climatology.  Plus, I have been selected as an intern at the National Weather Service for spring semester, although I am actually starting this month over Christmas break.  I am super excited about this...it's what I've always aspired to do.  I know I will learn a ton working there.  I'll have to stay on campus on Wednesday nights because one of my classes goes until 8:45pm and it's dumb to drive home.  Fortunately I have quite a few friends who have offered up their couches.


On the personal side of things, I am sad to report that the "Death of the Month Club" membership I somehow acquired in 2011 has continued.  I lost my stepmom  in October.  I'm glad she's with my dad now but it's tough having no family left.  As of the date of this blog, I have lost 19 family/friends/family of friends in 2011.  2012 simply has to be better.  Nobody should have to attend 19 wakes in one year.

Everything else is status quo.  I am relishing every moment of Christmas break since it is the last one I'll ever have.  Kaitlyn's cheerleading season ended up being a month longer than usual because they made it to the state competition, so cheer ended the same week as school.  I don't start school again until January 17th so I have plenty of time to be lazy.  I just want to get through Christmas and kiss this horrible year goodbye.  2012 hold so much promise with my graduation and 3 weddings.  I hope it also includes a job for me, because we are drowning financially with the ever-increasing costs of commuting to school among everything else.  




Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and especially a blessed, healthy, and happy 2012.  The next post I'll have on here will likely be my graduation post.  :)  I miss having time to update more often but time just doesn't permit and most of you keep up with my day to day posts on Facebook and Twitter anyway.

End of Summer 2011

It's hard to believe that summer is winding down and school starts again in less than two weeks.  In many ways, I am ready to get back to the routine, but I will sure miss sleeping in!

On a personal level, this has been a summer with some big changes.  My dad passed away at the age of 84 on June 20th, the morning after Father's Day.  He had been on dialysis for kidney disease for several years and it had gotten to the point where it wasn't working anymore.  He had some other health problems as well, and it had honestly gotten to the point where he truly had no quality of life anymore.  He had an advanced directive in place because he knew if he got to this point, he didn't want to suffer unnecessarily.  He went into hospice care on a Thursday and passed the following Monday. It was quick and peaceful.  I was able to be there to say goodbye, as well as tell him it was ok to go with the angels when they came, and I know it meant a lot to him.  My mom passed away when I was 17 but I have a wonderful stepmom who my dad loved with all of his heart.  She is doing as well as can be expected; I know she misses my dad terribly.  Last year, Don Piper spoke at our church and I read his book called "90 Minutes in Heaven."  It made my dad's passing much easier for me because I know without a shadow of a doubt that he is in Heaven, has no more pain, and is with our Lord.   In my dad's final hours, I saw him reaching his arms out and smiling several times, as well as blowing kisses and making handshake motions into the air.  It was the coolest thing and I wanted to badly to know which loved ones he was seeing on the other side.  

I was completely blown away with the support of my friends, as well as friends of my dad, after he passed.  I received so many cards, letters, and phone calls that I couldn't even keep up with all of them.  It was overwhelming, but in a good way. Tragedies truly make a person realize who her friends are, and this was no exception. It was strange how some people who I thought were my closest friends were too wrapped up in their own lives to do anything more than briefly acknowledge the event with a quick text before turning their full attention back to themselves, but other friends who I maybe didn't talk to as often stepped up and were right there for me with a card, phone call, email, help making plans, whatever I needed.  When I took a step back, I learned that some people were only staying close to me for their own needs...I couldn't remember when they called or emailed me just to say hello or ask what was going on in my life; they only contacted me when they needed something and they otherwise excluded me from their lives. Friends should be friends ALL the time, they shouldn't pick and choose which parts of their lives they'll "allow" you to be a part of and then completely blow you off for other parts.  Tough lesson this summer, and it was hard to let certain people go, but I'm in a better place because of it.  I don't need hypocritical people in my life who suddenly decide they are "too good" for me.  I don't tolerate being looked down upon by anyone, and I will no longer treat anyone as a priority who treats me as an option.

Moving on to school news...this summer, for the first time ever, I took a summer class.  I returned to good old Joliet Junior College to take my tenth and final math class, Differential Equations and Orthogonal Functions.  It was only offered during Summer III semester, which is only six weeks long and has a holiday (4th of July) thrown in there.  Consequently, the class only met 10 times and covered a full 16 weeks of material.  It was every Monday and Wednesday night from 6-10pm.  BRUTAL!!  By about 8:30 every night, we were all about ready to poke our eyes out.  The material wasn't terribly hard but the class moved so quickly that if we didn't understand something, there was no time to go over it a second time.  We had tests every week, sometimes twice a week, as well as long, tedious homework assignments.  The professor wasn't too bad but we could tell he wasn't fully prepared for class much of the time.  He would make mistakes doing the problems on the board and couldn't figure out where he went wrong.  Even though it was a rough six weeks, I am glad I got the class out of the way because I AM OFFICIALLY DONE WITH MATH CLASSES FOREVER!!!!  If you're keeping count, I took Algebra I, Algebra II, College Algebra, Pre-Calculus I, Pre-Calculus II, Calculus I, Calculus II, Calculus III, Statistics, and Differential Equations.  I realize that I will have to use these math skills to do work in my meteorology and physics classes, but I no longer have to spend hours upon hours doing math homework and studying for math tests.  I'm pretty proud of myself, truth be told.  My aversion to math is what kept me from pursuing a meteorology degree for many, many years.  I never thought I could get through all of those classes.  It was a struggle, not going to lie, but I did it!

The fall semester starts on August 22nd.  I am very excited that I will actually have a day off during the week for the first time.  No classes on Tuesdays!  I only have to go for a two hour lab on Thursday mornings as well, so that will be a quick day with my whole afternoon free.  Also, I decided not to get my GIS certificate.  It may be career suicide, but I've found that I seriously dislike it.  If I wanted to have a career doing something I dislike I could do that without spending five years in college full time.  ;-) That frees up my schedule a bit.  I'll have just four classes this semester instead of five.


In other academic news, I made a trip up to NIU in July to meet with my advisor and get my graduation audit (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) done.  I have been cleared to graduate on May 12, 2012.  :)  The light at the end of the tunnel is looming...I see it, I see it!!!


The start of a new school year almost seems like a second New Year's Day to me, with new hopes and resolutions based on what I've learned the year before.  This academic year, I will no longer try to do everything that everyone else can do.  I will accept my limitations and realize that I have different obligations and priorities than the other meteorology students, and I can't always attend every single meeting, do research projects, do internships, etc. And I have to be ok with that.  I've always said my family comes first, then school, then everything else.  I have to stick to that priority list a little better this year. I also vow to go out and have some fun though since it's my last year of college, even though I'm 43.  I want to go to football games, go out for a few drinks with my friends on occasion, and experience the social part of college a little more than I've allowed myself to do in the past.  If nothing else this summer, I've learned that the friendships that matter are worth nurturing.  I am fortunate to have a lot of friends who completely understand what it's like for me to be maintaining this schedule....they're the ones who come out on a Monday night at 10:30 after I get out of class, have a drink waiting for me, and want to hear about how things are going.  So cheers to good friends, and here's to my last year of college!

4 Years Down, 1 to Go!

Another semester is in the books. It was a tough 4 months this time around. Remember in my last blog I mentioned the professor from hell that wrote the Calculus II final? Well, guess who I ended up having for Calculus III? Yep. I saw her name come up a few days before classes began when I looked at my schedule, but there were no other Calculus III sections that worked with my schedule. I figured it couldn't possibly be that bad. She mentioned on the first day of class that she hadn't taught anything higher than Calculus II in close to 20 years, so we'd be learning together. I took that to mean that maybe she'd cut us some slack. I was wrong. If you follow me on Facebook, you already know the specifics of what I went through in that class. To make a long story short, every exam she gave us was as brutal as the Calculus II final she wrote last semester, and I ended up with a 57% at the end of the semester. She gave us all a Post-It note that sealed our fate going into the final. Mine said, "57% - Need a B on the final exam for a C in class". Thankfully, she didn't write the final (she is not allowed to anymore after the debacle last semester). After her brutal exams all semester, the final exam seemed like remedial math to me and I easily got the B I needed. I am happy to report that I am DONE WITH CALCULUS!!! I only have one math class left, Differential Equations, and I will be taking that this summer at JJC. It will be a rough 6 weeks going two nights a week for 4 hours at a time, but then I will be done with math forever. I've never known a college semester without a math class and I'm excited to experience it!

My other classes went fine; I had Maps & Mapping, Synoptic Meteorology, and Engineering Physics I. Next semester I will have 5 classes - Advanced Synoptic Meteorology, Weather Dynamics I, Remote Sensing, Intro to GIS, and Tropical Hazards. The good part is that for the first time I will have a day off during the week. I have no classes on Tuesdays! I almost had Thursdays off as well, but at the last minute one of the meteorology labs was changed to Thursday mornings. So now I'll have to drive up there for a one hour lab on Thursdays, but will be done at 11 and home by noon. I had a very hard time keeping up with everything this semester; it seemed like the kids had way more going on that usual and my ability to study on a regular basis definitely suffered. In the end though, it won't matter if I got a B instead of an A in a class, but it will matter that I was there for every band concert, open house, curriculum fair, etc. And that's the most important thing. Like I always say, kids first, then school, then everything else. Even though I have an extra class on my plate next semester, having some time off during the week and not having a math class should make it easier. And Amanda will have her driver's license soon, which means much less running around for me once I'm home from school.

I made lots of new friends this semester which made school much more bearable. I especially miss the group from my physics lab...we all hated the class but we made it fun. I can't take Engineering Physics II with them next semester because it conflicts with my meteorology classes, and I'm pretty bummed about that. Thankfully a couple of them live down here in the south suburbs near me, so we'll get together this summer.

Semester 1 at NIU - done!

Here I sit, enjoying 5 1/2 weeks of nothing! The one nice thing about a 4 year university as opposed to community college is longer breaks. Regular classes ended 12/3, finals ended 12/10, and I have sweet freedom until spring semester starts on January 18th. Hallelujah.

My observations from the first week of school, in my last blog, pretty much held true for the rest of the semester. I guess it is probably best to discuss the details for each class separately.

My 8:00 a.m. class for half the semester, Geography 300, was terminally boring. The logistics of getting to school that early required a 4:45 a.m. alarm and two wonderful friends who made sure Kaitlyn got to band at 7:30 each Tuesday. The class was basically an overview of the meteorology and geography degree programs at the school, as well as learning about library research specific to those majors and career services available to us. I did get some useful information out of the class, but felt that the information could have been contained into perhaps 4 classes instead of 10. It was very slow-moving. It is required for my major and only results in a satisfactory or unsatisfactory grade. I'm pretty sure all you need to do to get the "S" is show up most of the time and complete your 2 year school plan. That doesn't make sense to me because I'm pretty sure by the time you are a junior, you know what you need to take the last few semesters.

My Meteorology 300 class was definitely tougher than I thought but I enjoyed it. As I mentioned before, the professor, Dr. Walker Ashley, is wonderful. I have known of him for several years and have heard him speak at conferences, and I was very excited to finally be his student. As many had told me in the past, he is a tough teacher but I learned an immeasurable amount from him. I ended up with a B in the class. I would have liked an A, but I felt like I did the best I could considering the circumstances I was dealing with this semester (getting used to the commute, Scott working overtime for two months out of the semester - leaving me as pretty much a single mom, and going to school 5 days a week after 3 years of only going 3 days). I am looking forward to synoptic meteorology next semester.

Statistics was a breeze. I was so worried about this class, because I failed a more basic statistics class in high school and again in college back in 1986. I never understood it. However, this time I ended up with a 98% in the class - an A+! I found that I really enjoyed the material this time. I think it's because at this point I have so much math knowledge under my belt that I don't have to think about the calculations anymore, just the data analysis aspect of it. If I had room in my schedule I would totally take more advanced statistics classes. My professor was wonderful and very willing to help with homework and questions outside of class. She is a TA and I think she is going to make an awesome professor.

I don't even know how to begin to explain Calculus II. Good gracious. If you are friends with me on Facebook, you have surely heard me lament about this class for the past 16 weeks, just about daily. First of all, let me tell you that I absolutely made the best decision of my life when I dropped the class for which I was originally registered (based on the horrid Rate my Professor reviews - see last blog) and switched into a class with a brand new TA. The original professor's class started with 32 students and ended with....are you ready for this?.....FOUR. She was brutal! My TA was brand new and we had a rough first few weeks, but over time he loosened up and became a better teacher. Still not the best, but most of us made it through. I think with experience he will be an OK professor. I think the math department at NIU is pretty bad overall. I miss JJC a lot in that respect. Anyway, I showed up for class every day, did all my homework, and honestly tried to make sense of the nightmare that is calculus, but at the end of the semester I was sitting right at the 70% cutoff for a C. Any guesses as to who created the departmental final exam for Calculus II? Which counts for 1/3 of our grade? Yep - the horror professor with 4 students left in her class. The final exam was beyond ridiculous. I don't know anyone who actually finished it. I failed it miserably. My professor gave me a C in the class though....I am not sure if we had the biggest curve in the entire universe or if he appreciated that I showed up each day and made an honest effort. Whatever the case, I took it and ran! I never thought I would see the day where I was excited to get a C in anything, but in this case, I was elated.

Because of my less than stellar GPA - I ended up with a 3.0 - I lost one of my scholarships. :-( Thankfully it was the smaller one, which is $1000 per year. It required me to maintain a 3.5 GPA. I squeaked by with keeping the larger one ($4000 per year) because it only requires a 3.0 GPA. I hope to do much better next semester and raise my cumulative GPA, at which point the smaller one can be reinstated. This is quite a change from the straight A's I had for three years.

I made a few new friends at NIU but it wasn't nearly as easy as it was at JJC. Like I said before, there isn't much age diversity at NIU, and definitely not in my major. I've found a strange dichotomy with the meteorology majors....it seems very competitive and "every man for himself", which I am totally not used to. People generally didn't want to help me out when I had questions. A few people would even make me feel blatantly stupid when I asked them something. Ummmm....it's the first meteorology class in the program, excuse me for not knowing everything there is to know yet (like deriving gas law equations??). I did meet some nice people though, don't get me wrong. It's just completely different than the "working together" I've become accustomed to over the years. Maybe it's because I haven't proved myself yet there, or people are freaked out because I'm "non-traditionally aged", I don't know. It's kind of like going from being a senior at the top of the totem pole and then being a freshman and going back down to the bottom. I had so many friends, young and old, who I studied with at JJC, and now I'm on my own for the most part. I guess it's also because meteorology jobs are few and far between, and we'll all be competing for those jobs at the same time when we graduate. I definitely didn't experience that same feeling in my math class though. I think we all kind of developed a "Survivor: Math 230" attitude throughout the semester, bonding because we were all doing so poorly. I'm looking forward to seeing some friends from that class in Calculus III.

I am so fortunate that a good friend of mine from high school lives 10 minutes from campus, in Sycamore. She and her husband are gracious enough to let me stay at their home whenever I want. I have fallen in love with their pets, and also the best Mexican restaurant known to mankind that is right by their house. I don't know what I'd do without having them right there.

I think that about sums up the past 16 weeks! Now I am looking forward to a month of epic laziness. I spent last week cleaning the house and getting the Christmas shopping done, because I knew I couldn't truly relax until those tasks were completed. I have 5 months' worth of magazines to read and 4 books that have been on my nightstand collecting dust since August. I got through all the levels on Angry Birds last week, so now I'm ready for reading. ;-)

I hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas, and that 2011 holds great things for you. Thanks so much for being on this crazy journey with me. XOXOXO

First Week at NIU

Week #1 is in the books. It's been interesting and not quite what I expected, but pretty good overall.

I pretty much felt like a zombie the first two days of the week. I'm not used to getting up at the crack of dawn anymore, let alone jumping in a car for an hour shortly afterward. The commute honestly isn't all that bad, but ask me again in January. The weather has been beautiful all week so I haven't had rain or heavy winds to contend with yet. It takes me an hour to an hour and five minutes each way, depending on the police concentration, traffic, and morons. The only traffic I hit sometimes is on I-355 a mile before the exit for I-88 going northbound in the morning. It never stops moving though; it's just a lot of cars trying to get in the correct lane at the same time. Once I get on I-88 and get through Aurora, I can set the cruise control for the next 22 miles and relax. I'm not going to lie, it's definitely a long drive, but at least at this point it isn't stressful at all.

I found out a couple days before classes started that the calculus teacher I was supposed to have is a psychopath. There were over 50 reviews on Rate My Professor about her and none of them were good. Normally I don't take those opinions all too seriously; I am a good student and can usually do fine with any teacher. Plus, many times the people who post on there are the ones who blame their failures on the teachers no matter what. This one definitely made me take notice though because there were several postings from people who failed her class after having A's in math up until that point. Not good. At the last minute I switched into a different class, with a brand new grad student as the teacher. I figured it couldn't possibly be worse. I was wrong. He is very difficult to understand and doesn't explain problems thoroughly at all. It's a nightmare. The only other class that is still open that works with my schedule, however, is the psychopath. I think I will stick it out with this guy and just plan on getting a ton of extra help. I sure wish I could still use the math lab at JJC.

My statistics class seems pretty easy so far. The teacher is nice. We have recitation once a week, which consists of going to the computer lab and learning Excel. Yawn. Tell me, who gets to upper level classes in college and hasn't learned Excel yet? Don't they teach that in junior high and high school now? Crazy!

I have a required 8:00 class for my major and it was originally supposed to be on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The first day, though, he said it will only be on Tuesdays and we'll just go a little longer. Works for me!! It is really rough getting there for an 8:00 class, as you can imagine. Mondays are the busiest day of the week for me because Kaitlyn has tumbling right after school and then goes straight to cheerleading. I don't get home from running her around until after 8 pm, and then I have to get up at 4:45 a.m. to shower and get everything ready so I can be at school for that class. I already had to take a zero on a math assignment that was given to us on Monday and due Tuesday, because I didn't have time to do it. Thankfully the early class is only through the end of October. I've been playing "musical Kaitlyn" on Tuesday mornings, to the point where I've actually had to write down who is in charge of her each week. I'm so thankful for neighbors and friends who are helping me out with getting her where she needs to be. It truly does take a village!!

My meteorology class is awesome. I've heard the professor speak at the severe weather seminar I attend each year and have totally been looking forward to being his student. The material looks tough but interesting. I only know three people at NIU, and two of them are in that class also. So that's nice.

This summer I worked really hard at severely limiting my caffeine consumption. I did this because my blood pressure is high and I'm avoiding going on medication, and also because I didn't want to have to deal with taking time to make coffee every morning before the commute. By Thursday morning I caved and made coffee. It became very clear that driving 67 miles first thing in the morning was going to go much, much better if I had some coffee beforehand. I figure all the extra exercise I'm getting hiking all over campus with a heavy backpack cancels it out healthwise. Plus, I lost 4 lbs. my first week. Bonus! I needed it after sitting on my booty all summer.

It is a big adjustment going from a community college, with students of all ages, to a major university. Most of the kids have been fine with me but it's still kind of awkward being the only "grownup" in most of my classes. There is a woman in my statistics class that looks to be 65-70, but other than that, I'm the sole old lady around. I definitely miss that aspect of JJC, as well as JJC's awesome air conditioning. All my classrooms at NIU are steaming hot.

Well, that's the wrapup for the week. To sum it up: It's different, but more good than bad. I probably won't have time to update my blog much, but you guys are surely used to that. ;-)

College 101

I'm often asked for advice regarding college: how I manage to keep my grades up, receive scholarships, and get to know the people I do. I'm a little tired of hearing that I'm "lucky" and "things just fall into my lap." This could not be further from the truth. I found a great quote the other day that sums it up perfectly:

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." ~ Seneca

Going to college at any age is both exciting and daunting. I've put together some things that I've learned that will hopefully make things go more smoothly for anyone embarking on this journey.

Choosing a school

This sounds like a no-brainer, right? You'd be surprised how many people choose a school based on which of their friends are going there, how pretty the campus is, or how much they like the school colors. Seriously. If you know what field you'd like to get into, take some time to speak to professionals working/hiring in that field. What classes/skills do employers require? What schools do they feel are the best for that particular field? What advice would they give you as you plan your academic path? Are there any schools from which they would steer you away? Talk to as many people as you can in the industry in which you are interested. Also, most companies will let you "shadow" for a day, which allows you to spend a day there and see what the career is really like. This is a valuable tool...you don't want to spend 4 years in college only to find out that you don't particularly like the job and it wasn't what you thought it would be. Don't be afraid to ask questions. This is probably the biggest and most important advice I can give....get to know people who can help you in the future!! I would have earned a degree from a disreputable school had I not had the sense to email a couple professionals in the meteorology world who quickly steered me away. I would have wasted about $40,000 on a degree that wouldn't have prepared me for the job I want. They both pointed me towards NIU and said a meteorology degree from there is golden and highly regarded by employers in the industry. So ASK QUESTIONS!!!!

If you are NOT sure exactly what you want to do with your life, don't panic! This is totally normal. Don't let school counselors, parents, or anyone else force you into a field you don't love. It's perfectly fine to be undecided. In this case, I highly recommend getting an Associate's Degree from a community college. The first two years of college are filled with general education classes and are essentially the same at a 2 year and a 4 year college. In the state of Illinois, due to the Illinois Articulation Initiative, an A.A. or A.S. allows you to transfer to any state school and automatically be considered a junior. Your general education credits are considered met, and they don't have to pick through every class to see what will transfer and what will not. Honestly, in this economy, I'm not sure why anyone in Illinois would choose to go away to a 4 year college immediately after high school unless they are wealthy or have a large scholarship. You are getting the exact same classes at community college for a fraction of the cost, and there is no worry of whether or not they will count when you transfer.

Lastly, if there *is* something you love, don't let anyone talk you out of it! That is the reason I'm in college at 42...because I listened to counselors and parents who said that "meteorology is a stupid career choice" when I was 18. Let them laugh at you, and then go out and prove them all wrong. I have to say, that part is kind of satisfying. ;-)

Paying for college

The Financial Aid office at your chosen school is your friend. They are very good at letting you know exactly what you need to do and will help you get your funding, whether through loans, scholarships, grants, or a payment plan. PAY ATTENTION TO DEADLINES!!! I cannot tell you how many students I have met over the years who end up missing out on school because they didn't pay attention to the financial aid filing dates. Also, "priority dates" are there for a reason!!! If you have your paperwork in by then, you have the best chance at getting funds. Normally these dates are in the spring for the upcoming financial aid year. If you procrastinate, there's a good chance you won't get your financial aid. They are very easy to work with if you just follow the rules and get your paperwork in on time. It's not rocket science.

I have been fortunate enough to receive 4 scholarships. There is a ton of money out there for people who take the time to apply.

*First, look over the scholarship application very closely. They often want several different things, normally a sealed transcript, an essay, evidence of work in the community, and letter(s) of recommendation. If you omit anything they request, you will be disqualified. These applications are a lot of work, but rewarding in the end!

*Fill out the application carefully. Do not leave anything blank. Print neatly.
*Make sure you pay attention to the deadline on the application and allow plenty of time for mail. Again, waiting until the last minute can cost you.

*The "community service" most scholarship committees are looking for is NOT those little things you did for an hour or two at a time to rack up community service points for high school. They want to know how you are INVOLVED in the community on a regular basis. For example, I have been a volunteer in the Mokena school district for close to 10 years, I volunteer at my church in various ways, I coached girls' softball for several years. They also like to hear about how your volunteer work connects with your career goals. I have been a volunteer Skywarn spotter for the National Weather Service for 11 years and a precipitation reporter for 3-4 years. This goes hand in hand with my goal of achieving a meteorology degree, and shows that I am using my interests to serve my community.

*The essay is the most important facet of your application. This is where you show what sets you apart from the hundreds of other applicants. Do NOT go online and Google "sample scholarship essay." They don't want the standard canned responses; they want to hear about why they should choose YOU. What led you to choose this career field? What is your planned educational path? What job do you hope to achieve when you graduate? In what way will the job you choose affect your life and the lives of others? Write from the heart - don't tell them what you think they want to hear. Tell them about YOU. You never know who is reading your essay and how it will affect them. For example, in my essay I wrote about how there was no warning for the Plainfield tornado in 1990 and now the average tornado warning time is 16 minutes in our area. I included some basic statistical data on how fewer lives have been lost in the last 20 years because of advancement in forecasting technology and the formation of the Skywarn spotter network, and how I wanted to continue to work towards even longer warning times. It turns out that one of the people funding a private scholarship had lost her childhood home in that tornado and many of her friends had been injured. Guess what? Yes, I got that scholarship.

*Letters of recommendation are extremely important. Choose wisely who you ask. Encourage whoever writes the letter to truly write about their experience with you and not just print out a form letter. It makes a world of difference. Don't be afraid to ask anyone! I believe the main reason I got one of my scholarships is because I had an incredible recommendation letter from a senior meteorologist at the National Weather Service. If someone high up in your potential career field believes in you, a scholarship committee will as well! For my NIU scholarships, I had to have a recommendation letter specifically from a professor in my major, so I couldn't use my NWS letter. My geography/meteorology professor at JJC wrote me an amazing letter. I am sure his endorsement made a big difference in my success in getting half of my tuition at NIU paid for.

*Finally, we must discuss grades. Yes, "C's get degrees," but they don't get scholarships!! Do your best, go to class, do your homework, pay attention to when work is due, and don't blame your problems on the professor or anyone else. YOU are solely responsible for your success; college will be whatever you make it. Also, don't ever be afraid to talk to your professors or seek extra help. They have office hours for a reason. They WANT you to succeed. They are not "out to get you." I promise.

Grown-up College

The next part is for moms thinking of returning to school. You CAN do it. I won't lie and say it is easy, but if you have the support of your family, it truly is not so bad. It's actually fun going back at this age since we already have a pretty decent general knowledge about a lot of things just from life experience. And it goes by really, really fast.

*Don't be afraid of math. I was, believe me. My major requires me to take 10 math classes and I hadn't touched math (besides elementary school homework) since 1984. When you enter college, you will have to take a math placement test. This will very accurately put you exactly where you need to be. I tested into high school level algebra 1. I actually found that after hating math most of my life, I actually kind of enjoyed it. That feeling changed once I hit trigonometry, but I digress...most sane people don't choose to go back to school at 39 for a degree requiring that much higher math.

*Don't be afraid of being the only adult in your class. Most of my classes were full of returning adult students; I'd say the ratio was pretty close to half and half at JJC. The younger students have always been really great to me. I've made lots of new friends from 18 to 76!

*Try to schedule your classes for when the kids are in school if you can. Just make sure you have backup for days when the kids get out early or if someone is home sick. There are also lots of general education classes at Lincoln-Way through JJC in the evenings if that works better for you. I took a bunch of classes there when I was first starting out.

*Don't bite off more than you can chew. Start by taking one or two classes and see how it goes. I remember in my very first class I was sitting there literally shaking because I was so freaked out that I was back in school. It was scary at first but it quickly got really fun. It feels good to use your brain again!

*Get in the habit of keeping your school bag with you at all times. I cannot tell you how much of my homework has been done while sitting in the car waiting to pick kids up from their activities. You can get a lot done in those few minutes.

*Set aside time after school that's just for the kids. Put your homework out of sight, sit down with them and help them with theirs, listen when they tell you about their day. Fill out any forms they need filled out, read notes they bring home, etc. You can't do everything at once so you need to set aside time to focus on their school needs every day as well.

*Don't be afraid to ask for help. This is probably what was hardest for me. The only family we have in the area is Scott's parents, and they have their own lives. I hate asking them to run the kids around every single time I need it. I am fortunate to have friends who have supported me and helped me out, even though it still kills me to ask. I think as women/moms we feel like we should be able to do it all, but take people up on it when they offer to pick up your kids or take them for awhile so you can study. You need support!

*You will need to learn to prioritize and some things will slip. It's ok. My motto is "Kids first, then school, then everything else." 90% of my friends totally understand this, and realize that for the most part their interactions with me during the school year will be via email, Facebook, text, or a quick coffee trip. I do have a few friends who whine because they never get to see me, but unfortunately sometimes there is nothing left to give after school and family time. Some people have different priorities and that's ok.

*Your house will be a hot mess from September through December and from January through May. Accept it and move on. You will sit down with the family and explain to them that your schedule is going to be hectic and they'll have to pitch in and help around the house. They will nod their heads and agree, and enthusiastically promise to help you out. All lies. Don't fall for it..

I hope this helps. I am getting ready to start year #4 of college, which hardly seems possible. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel though!

Tom Skilling!!!!!!

August 5th was a very special day for me!

Last week, I won a contest on Twitter. You can see the details of the contest here: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/redeye/2010/07/meet-tom-skilling.html

The prize was to tour the WGN Studio in Chicago, be there to watch them broadcast the noon news, and most importantly, meet Tom Skilling. If you are not from Chicago, it is hard to put into words who Tom Skilling is. He is THE Chicago meteorologist; he has been with WGN here for over 30 years. It's amazing to see a man who is still as excited about the weather now as he was at the beginning of his career. I don't know anyone in the meteorological community who doesn't hold Tom in the highest regard. He is known around here as The Weather God. The running joke is, "Tom Skilling doesn't predict the weather...the weather just better f**king do what Tom Skilling says!"

Thursday morning I woke up at the crack of dawn, got myself ready, and had to go register both my kids for school (at different locations of course). Thankfully I got home in plenty of time to don my "interview suit" (hey...a girl's gotta look her best to meet The Weather God) and was on the road by 10:15. I arrived at WGN at 11:20 and went inside. Scott, the guy from the Chicago Tribune RedEye who sponsored the contest, wasn't there quite yet so I sat and waited. A few minutes later, another man came in who had been invited; he didn't get in on the contest but had sent Scott a great suggestion a couple weeks prior, so Scott felt he should be included as well. When Scott arrived, we were escorted into the studio by a woman named Diana. Nobody realized when they planned this day for our visit that there was not going to be a noon news broadcast due to a White Sox game being aired. At first this was disappointing, but it actually turned out to be a good thing.

The first thing we saw was a "history wall" with memorabilia from the many years WGN has been broadcasting:



Diana brought us into the control room so we could watch the producers and directors do their thing while the 11a.m. news was wrapping up. It was pretty cool to watch. I could never do a job like this - I am far too distractable!


Diana realized at this point that Tom was about to do his 7-day forecast from The Weather Center, a separate studio area from where the main news is broadcast. We ran down there just in time to see him preparing to go on the air and say hello.


We were able to stand on the side and watch him broadcast his forecast. That was fun to see, even though it was a shortened version due to the Sox game. After that, we got to spend the better part of an hour just talking with Tom. If our day had gone as originally planned, with the noon news being broadcast, we would've never had the opportunity to spend that much time with him. I was proud to be a Sox fan right then, that's for sure!!

I told Tom I am a meteorology student and he took a ton of time to show me all the different computer models he uses, forecast tools, graphics, etc. It was so interesting! The most fascinating thing to me was his hand-written analysis of several different computer models. Most forecasters only use a few, but Tom uses up to 40. He says there is so much variance in the models when the same data is fed into them, that he uses all of them and then computes his own forecast based on an average. That's the difference between a true scientist and someone who just plays a meteorologist on tv...Tom wouldn't be lost if the computer went down. I love that he still does stuff mathematically by hand:

He even let me try out his chair!

Do you hear "Wayne's World" in your head?? "It will be mine...oh yes, it will be mine!" ;-)

After he showed us around The Weather Center, he told us some good stories and answered our questions. He also took a lot of time to explain how satellite imagery has advanced over the past couple of decades and how it's going to get even better in the near future. Probably stuff that would be boring to many, but it was of great interest to me since I am getting my GIS (Geographic Information Systems) certification along with my meteorology degree. It really does go hand-in-hand with meteorology and jobs in GIS are plentiful. Any student pursuing a meteorology degree would be remiss not to tack on the GIS certification. It opens up a world of opportunities career-wise.

At the end of the tour, Tom showed us the area in which the Chicago Tribune weather page is created each day. Tom actually sketches out the weather pictures and then gives them to his graphics department to format into a picture for the paper. He has an entire file cabinet drawer full of his sketches and he let us each take one home. I am totally taking my kids' artwork off the fridge and putting Tom's up:


After parting ways with Tom, we toured the rest of the studio. We saw where Bozo the Clown's dressing room used to be:




and where Frazier Thomas died (could have done without seeing that), which was right outside of Bozo's dressing room. Interesting fact...the old Bozo studio is where the Illinois Lottery drawing is now held:



We also got to sit in the anchors' chairs in the main news studio. That was fun:


We also ran into Allison Payne and had a chance to say hello. I am kicking myself for not asking to get a picture with her.

Our tour concluded and I was back on the road shortly after 1:00. I have to also add that it was a great pleasure to meet Scott Kleinberg from the RedEye. He and I have been "social media buddies" for a couple of years now. With me being a Seahawks fan and him being a Steelers fan, things get a little hairy during football season, but he's a great guy. I really enjoy reading what he writes and I am forever grateful to him for this opportunity. I wish I would have gotten a picture with him as well; didn't even think of it until I got home and my husband asked me, "Where's a picture of you with Scott?" Duh. Oops.

Hello, My Name is: COLLEGE GRADUATE!!!!

Again, I apologize for not posting in so long! There's probably all of maybe 3 people who read this, so I'm not too concerned. This blog is mostly for my own catharsis anyway.

Much has happened since I last posted in March. The biggest thing, obviously, is that I graduated from JJC!! After 3 years, 26 credit hours of math, 26 credit hours of science, and 23 credit hours of random other nonsense...I am now the proud owner of an Associate in Science degree. :-) I guess that makes me, what, a junior scientist?? The graduation ceremony was May 14th; I am really glad I participated even though it's "only" an Associate's. The ceremony was nicely done, and the faculty guest speaker was the counselor who helped me when I first decided to go back to school in 2007. I owe much of my success to her; she is the first person who DIDN'T think I was crazy for going back to school at the age of 39, felt everyone deserved a second chance, and always rooted me on. She is retiring now but I can't help but think about how many returning adults whose lives she has helped to change over her 27 year career at JJC. I was also thrilled that the one and only Geography professor from the school came to watch me graduate. He has become a mentor and a friend to me, and I am quite sure I might have given up by now without his help and encouragement.

In other news, remember the large scholarship for which I applied back in January? I got it!!! So now in addition to the $1000 scholarship I had already received for NIU, I received the $4000 one! The best part is that both scholarships automatically renew for a second year as long as I keep my GPA above 3.0. The $5000 per year pays for just over half of my tuition, which is awesome. I will have to take out student loans to cover the rest as well as the insane transportation expenses, but it won't be nearly as bad.

I went up to NIU for my orientation at the beginning of May. I am beyond excited to start the meteorology program this fall. The whole department is so nice and helpful. I'm registered for my classes already as well. I will have to make the trip every day, which sucks, but there's no way around it this semester. The good part is that I will be out of there at noon every day, except on Tuesdays when I will be done at 1:20. Regardless, I will be home before the kids and won't miss any afternoon activities they have. I did have to enroll in an 8:00 a.m. class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but at least it only lasts for half a semester. It's required the first semester for all Geography and Meteorology majors and is only offered at that time. I am taking Calculus II, Statistics, Meteorology 300 and Geography 300. My meteorology advisor originally had me taking 16 credit hours but then said he didn't know what he was thinking and cut me to 13. I think that will be much more reasonable. I won't be behind and will still be able to graduate in two years because they are putting all of the GIS certification courses online and I'll be able to take them in the summer from home. This will be even more exciting because my inlaws got me a Dell gift card for graduation to go towards a new laptop. :) After using this 11 year old desktop (which is still completely fine due to my husband's diligence in keeping it up-to-date and adding memory and an extra hard drive when we needed it) a new laptop of my own will be quite a treat!

Unfortunately, I did not reach my goal of getting out of JJC with a 4.0. I ended up getting a "B" in Calculus this past semester, which brought my cumulative GPA down to a 3.93. It was a 5 credit hour class so it really had an effect. I'm not as upset as I thought I'd be, probably because I still ended up with the highest score in the class and I know I did the best I possibly could. My professor said it is unusual for people to even pass Calculus the first time around, let alone get a B. It was a tough class. Everyone says Calculus II is the hardest of all of the math classes so I'm a little concerned about taking it this fall at a new school. I'm glad I am knocking it out my first semester though while my other classes are relatively easy. My advisor said that the classes I will have my last two semesters there are really intense so I want to get my math knocked out right away.

The kids are doing fine; winding down their school years as well. Amanda did really well in her first year of high school...I am proud of her. Now we're dealing with the first boyfriend and everything else that goes along with being on the edge of fifteen. Kaitlyn really enjoyed her school year, got good grades, became a pretty phenomenal flute player, and trained to be a peer mediator. She tends to get very attached to her teachers and this year is no different. I'm sure there will be many tears on the last day of school, as usual.

Spring Semester 2010

I apologize for not posting for such a long time. There really hasn't been too much to report. I guess that's a good thing, right??

It's hard to believe but it's almost midterm already for the spring semester. This one is flying by for some reason. My classes are going pretty well. The Pascal programming class is what it is; I don't like it but it's not difficult, just time consuming. My Comparative Religion class is interesting and super easy. It took me a few weeks to get used to the professor. She likes to hear herself talk. A lot. And loudly. That's tough first thing in the morning and I've added an extra cup of coffee to my morning repertoire because of this. Calculus is going ok; I love my teacher. She explains things really well and gives us a lot of guidance. The material isn't easy but I still like it much better than trigonometry. I am actually spending today going through three units in math for a quiz tomorrow. I've had to put a lot more time into studying for that class that I ever have for a math class in the past. She warned us the first week of class that we would need to spend 15-18 hours per week working on this stuff. I thought she was exaggerating but clearly not so much.

It is hard to believe that I'll be transferring after this semester! It always seemed so far away and not really "real". I have received one scholarship for NIU so far; it is $1000. I also applied for a fairly major one through Phi Theta Kappa, and I should be hearing whether or not I received it THIS WEEK! It is $4000 and also includes a book stipend. Those of you who are in college know darn well that books are the biggest expense. I have to go up there sometime in April to register for fall classes and meet with my advisor. I'm still nervous about the logistics of the commute (66 miles each way), paying for all the gas (buying a new vehicle isn't an option right now...can't afford a car payment while I'm paying tuition), and holding my breath to see if my husband has a job each time his consulting contract is up. Right now he's on a project through the end of May, but after that, who knows what is next. I have faith that it will all work out though. If the two years at NIU fly by even half as fast as my three years at JJC have, it will seem like the blink of an eye.