Looking back and moving forward

It has been almost 8 years since I first attended Dillard University in New Orleans, LA. During that time up until now a lot has change for me. When I left Dillard back in 2003 one thing that I knew was that I needed to finish school. Yet at the time I didn't know how I was going to be able to get my degree. I had a balance with Dillard and could not attend another college until that debt was paid. I would constantly think about what was I going to do. I needed to get a job. I did get employment; however, I was not making enough to pay any bills and my college tuition debt as well as student loans. In 2006, I was working at US Airways as a Parts Clerk as a recently married man with a new born baby living in my mother's apartment. Less than a year later I was promoted to Manager and moved my family from my mom's. I began thinking about going back to school when my wife started working for a Historically Black College in the city.

In the back of my mind I was always interested in finding out about school programs for employees' families at her school, but a year later I lost my job. I then fell into the job of being a stay at home dad (we could not afford daycare anymore). I did what I had to do for my family and once again placed my desire to go to school on hold. In addition, within two months of losing my job my wife and I found out we were pregnant again. I didn't know how I would be able to attend school with two babies under the age of 2 and make it off of 1 income, but my thoughts were still on going to school and finishing my degree.

In 2008, God was telling me it was time for me to finish what I started back in 2001 because Dillard some how wrote off my debt (I suspect it had something to do with Hurricane Katrina). Then one day on the radio I heard about the Adult Degree program at Belmont Abbey College and I went to their informational session. I learned that they offered classes at night or on the weekends, in addition, to affordable costs. I went home and told my wife that I wanted to go to Belmont so I could stay at home with the boys during the day and attend classes at night. Surprisingly she said, "let’s make it happen!" And we did. I am now in my second semester at Belmont Abbey. This blog is going to be about me as an adult student and a stay at home parent.