Jennifer Grotten

My name is Jennifer Grotton. I live in Rockland, Maine, and I’m in the Library Science program.

I went back to school about a year ago. I was unemployed, had lost my job, and I had thought several times through the years, about going back to school, but never really made that jump! I was a little intimidated, but kind of determined to make it happen at this point in my life!

At 43, it’s been a lot of years since I’ve been in high school, but the kind of student I was back then… I wasn’t really focused on what I wanted to do in life. I just wanted to get through the classes, and go on to “living life”, if you would.  The biggest change I’ve seen is in my confidence.  I feel I can do anything I want to do now. A few years ago, I wouldn’t be able to say that. I was stuck in a dead-end job, if you would, I was making money, but certainly not fulfilling what I would see as my potential in life. What I find now, with the classes I’m taking, is that I aspire to greatness, and I achieve greatness!

I still have a lot of years left to work, and it opens up a lot of possibilities. Certainly more career options, but more importantly for me, it’s liking what I do.  And doing something that I really love for 20 or 30 years, is certainly better that working simply to make money.

Next semester, I’ll be going back to work, and all the classes I’m taking are going to be on-line classes. So, I have the flexibility of doing my classes before or after work.  The University and all the sites are really great with working with non-traditional students. You might not know the technology, but they’ll help you learn the technology.  So, if that’s a barrier for you, don’t let it be!