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Karen Guthrie and her daughter Kary Iddings have always enjoyed doing things together: shopping, traveling, camping. So, when Kary needed to go back to school, it was natural for her to say, “Mom, you should do this too.” Despite having different professional backgrounds – and 28 years between them – both Karen and Kary were drawn to McGregor. The convenient location, focus on adult learners and personal attention all made Midwest right for them. The mother-daughter duo carpooled to school and scheduled their first classes together. As their studies became more program-specific, they took different courses, but always supported each other – working through “printer issues” and offering encouragement. Kary completed her bachelor’s degree in Management in 2006 – just days before having her first child, and was unable to attend the graduation ceremony. Karen completed her bachelor’s degree in Human Development a year later. In 2007, Karen and Kary walked in the graduation ceremony together. And they were both so proud of each other. Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did Midwest help you professionally? How has Midwest impacted you personally? Did you have an ‘Aha Moment’ at McGregor? |
McGregor: |
Tell us a little bit about yourself? |
Karen: |
I’m Karen, and I’m the mom. I’m a registered nurse. I was 32 years old when I went back to school to get my nursing degree. Before that I was a stay-at-home mom and raised my daughter and my son. Then, at age 32 I got my nursing degree and started to work part-time. I did intensive care for newborns and a little bit of adult care, and then I decided that I really liked home care. I’m an on-call nurse doing community emergency home care. I’ve done that for about 15 years now, and I really don’t have any plans to change at this point. I am an outdoor person. I love to camp, hike, ride bikes. I have my own kayak. I also have 1980 Volkswagen camper that I take on camping trips with my daughter and my one-year-old grandson. Kary and I like to go places together. We’ve been to Alaska, been to Michigan, been to Washington, D.C. and Chicago. We like being together. I graduated from Midwest in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree – I completed the Human Development major. ^Top |
Kary: |
I’m Kary, and I work for the Dayton Development Coalition as the Director of Special Events. We are a nonprofit economic development organization representing the 12 counties around Montgomery County. I attended Midwest to earn my bachelor’s degree. I was a Management major and graduated in 2006. I’m 32 now. I graduated from high school in 1993 and got my associate’s degree in Paralegal Studies right afterwards. I finished that in 1994. Then I went to work for the Ohio House of Representatives for state representative Gene Krebs. I did that for a little over a year, and then the commute from Springfield to Columbus got to be too much. So, I started looking around and I found a position at the Dayton Development Coalition and I’ve worked there ever since. It’s going on 12 years now, and I really enjoy working for the Coalition. Mom and I started back at school in 2001. At that time, I was doing things in my job that I didn’t have the degree to back up. I knew I could do those things, but on paper I didn’t have the bachelor’s title. I wanted to have career options – and just personal growth. I knew I needed to get my bachelor’s degree. I started looking around and I ended up at McGregor. It took about four years to finish, but I’m so glad that I did it. I have a 13-month-old son. I actually had him the same week of graduation in 2006. And because of that, I couldn’t walk in the ceremony in 2006. So, when my mom graduated in 2007, I was able to walk in the ceremony with her. We got to walk together and that made it special. Right now, my life is really busy with work and my son – he’s the most important thing for me right now. I’m very fortunate to have my parents, my mom especially, who are able to take care of him during the day while I work. My mom and I, we just like spending time together. We like going shopping. I’m not as much of an outdoors person as she is. I like reading and shopping and things like that, but I just love being with my family and my son. ^Top |
Karen: |
We took a lot of classes together. ^Top |
Kary: |
Yeah. For the general core classes, we tried to take as many of them together as we could. And then when we started getting into the more specific degree stuff, and it wasn’t possible. ^Top |
Karen: |
That was fun because a lot of people didn’t know at first that we were mother-daughter. They’d find out and ask Kary “Is that your mom?” ^Top |
Kary: |
Yeah. My mother is a lot more outspoken in class. I’m certainly not afraid to speak up and ask questions, but I’m usually the listener. I’m the quiet one who’s listening. ^Top |
Karen: |
I am not. I’m the one that will engage somebody. It was fun because people were surprised. Very surprised. ^Top |
McGregor: |
Why did you choose McGregor? |
Karen: |
As I said, I was older – I was 32 when I got my nursing degree and I always wanted to get a bachelor’s degree. And I’m 59 now, I will be 60 in March, and I know that social security doesn’t pay for schooling. It was always a personal goal to have that bachelor’s degree, and I love going to school. I love to learn. I think Midwest was just an awesome school to go to. The teachers were very encouraging. They were always behind you 100%. And especially for an older person, somebody who hadn’t been writing papers for years – a nurse who uses a lot of little phrases and shorthand instead of writing. It was horrible the first couple of papers because I couldn’t spell. ^Top |
Kary: |
And I think we chose Midwest specifically for a couple of different reasons. No. 1 was the location. We both lived in Springfield so it was a convenient location for us. But once we got in, we knew it was the school for both of us. I think I can speak for both of us – the small classroom environment made a big difference. I did not want to be in some big auditorium. I didn’t want to be just somebody in the back of the room. So, definitely the class sizes. The fact that it was going to be adult students – that meant a lot to me. That I could share my experiences and I could also learn from other people’s experiences from the real world – that really meant a lot to me. ^Top |
Karen: |
Well, and having been born and raised in Springfield, Antioch and Yellow Springs have always been a big part of our lives. We have hiked the Glen in that area for many, many years. And Antioch, their whole philosophy was something that I truly believed in. And Midwest is definitely just an offshoot of it. So that really drew me to it. And the adult degree program; and being able to go on Saturdays. I worked full-time, so I knew that I couldn’t work all day and then go to school in the evening. It had to be a Saturday program. ^Top |
Kary: |
And, the program is tailored for adults. It’s tailored for the working family person. We couldn’t have found anything better. It’s the values and the morals. It’s the program, the school, the schedule. It was all wrapped up into a nice package. ^Top |
McGregor: |
How did Midwest help you professionally? |
Kary: |
I am a more introverted person, and I’m usually just a listener. Going to Midwest and being in the smaller classrooms where you had to participate and you had to be thinking, that made me more outgoing in my career. It made me more confident to speak up and to offer my opinion and to offer suggestions. And sometimes to even be the devil’s advocate and try to see the other side of the issue. For me, professionally, it really did a lot. Midwest really made me more outgoing and more confident. I’m also young and it’s very early in my career. It was really necessary for me to have a bachelor’s degree. ^Top |
Karen: |
I really didn’t have a problem speaking in front of people. So, professionally, I think I benefited because anything you learn adds to your professional goals and abilities. For example, something that I read can end up helping me when I talk to my clients. Professionally, it adds to your overall knowledge base – your foundation. And I think it opens you up and makes you not so afraid to talk to someone that’s different than you. It gives you that confidence. ^Top |
McGregor: |
How has Midwest impacted you personally? |
Karen: |
For me, being around younger people made me more aware of the world. I’m almost 60 years old. Being around the young people with their new ideas, with their new clothes, with their new fads – it keeps you young and I really like that. And so personally, I think I have gained a lot. And I can actually write a whole paper without a fragment now! ^Top |
Kary: |
Another thing I would add is that Midwest has a strong emphasis on different cultures, and on learning about each other, and on learning about other cultures. I was exposed to people and to things that I never ever would have been exposed to. That diversity is very important. Midwest definitely opened my eyes to a lot of different cultural issues. ^Top |
McGregor: |
Did you have an ‘Aha Moment’ at McGregor? |
Karen: |
I think one of the “Aha moments” that I had was during one of the first papers that I wrote for Diane Chiddister in Critical Writing. She praised how well it was done and said how she loved reading it. And I was encouraged to write – ever since that paper, I’ve been encouraged. It’s like I realized that I do have a skill. I do have something that other people don’t have. So, that was sort of an “Aha” for me. Personally speaking, it made me proud. It’s the word that comes to mind – just proud. I knew I could write things. I knew I could write business letters. ^Top |
Kary: |
When you get out of your box and out of your comfort zone and you start doing things that are different and you get reinforcement back from the teachers – you gain not only confidence, but also this feeling of pride. It’s “Hey, I can do this thing.” And the fact that other people appreciate it and they understand. I think we’re all so hard on ourselves and that we’re our own worst critics. So when I look back, I’m just really proud of everything that I achieved when I was there. ^Top |
Karen: |
And as her mother, I’m very proud of her. ^Top |
McGregor: |
How would you describe McGregor? |
Karen: |
It’s a very encouraging liberal arts school. I think that’s the biggest thing that I found – that the instructors were so behind you. And everyone was very proud of what they did. ^Top |
Kary: |
They were very personal. Everyone gets to know you, and not just the teachers. When you walk in the front door, the receptionist that’s there on Saturdays, she greets you by name. And the financial director, she was awesome. The registration, they were awesome. And Willa always spoke to us. McGregor doesn’t just recruit you and then drop you. Everyone was always available. Everyone was always checking in on you. It was very personal. I would encourage any adult to pursue a degree and again, the adult environment at Midwest made such a difference. If I had to sit down with a bunch of kids right out of high school, it would have been a completely different experience. And I would not have gotten the same things out of it that I did. ^Top |
Karen: |
They just went out of their way to listen to you and guide you, and that meant a lot. ^Top |
McGregor: |
What advice would you give to a new student? |
Kary: |
Just the phrase “you can do it.” It is a lot. And just when you think you can’t do it or you think “Oh my gosh, how am I going to do it,” you just make it happen. Families and careers – it’s all happening at once, but you can get it done. ^Top |
Karen: |
I would tell a new student to take one step at a time. Don’t look at the overall big plans; just take one step at a time. It can be overwhelming when you actually sit down and look at the syllabus and all of the papers that you have to do. Just do one step at a time. You will meet your goal. ^Top |
Kary: |
And for me, it took about four years, but it seemed like it was over quickly. You take it one day at a time and you get your plans together. They map out the way with, you know, what you need to do. And before you know it, you’re done. ^Top |
Karen: |
It’s over before you know it. And in the scheme of life, it’s not that long. ^Top |
Kary: |
Everybody is like “I’m too busy. I don’t have time. I’m going to do it later. Or, I’ll wait and do it after the kids are gone.” And you know what, in the scheme of things, it’s not that much time. And it’s over before you know it. And then you’re wondering why you waited so long. ^Top |
Karen: |
Well, there’s 28 years of age difference between Kary and me. I think it proves that Midwest is for all ages, and I think that’s a very important thing. I think women need to be encouraged to go back to school. You can do it when you’re in your 20s, your 30s, your 40s, your 50s, and even your 60s. So, I just want to encourage people. It really builds confidence. ^Top |
Kary: |
You wont regret it. It’s challenging; it’s tough to be up late nights and early mornings. But when you look back, you’ll think to yourself “Why didn’t I do it sooner?” So, whatever your fears or doubts are, just overcome those. ^Top |