I’m ‘officially’ a Grad Student

Going back to when I was in high school and people would ask me, “what do you want to be when you grow up?”, I remember kinda stammering out an answer, but nothing definitive. This played out in college; I had no purpose or direction. Well, I did have a purpose and that was to drink a lot of beer and the direction was toward a party or evening companion. Strangely enough Oregon State University didn’t grade in those areas.

I eventually earned a BA in Church Ministry from Northwest College (now, University). Trust me, that is a convoluted story in itself. When I applied to work for Lifeways for the current stint I came to the realization that ALL the majors I had during my less-than stellar college career were social service related (teaching, psychology, sociology, political science and yes, ministry).

Soon after starting at Lifeways, I discovered that the company encouraged its employees to seek out career advancement; up to and including advanced degrees. A number of the clinical staff, including my supervisor, either were or in the process of becoming alumnus of Walla Walla University. With a little digging I found that the school offered a Masters of Social Work degree designed for students who had families & jobs.

When I was promoted to House Manager, I was told something that I already knew, that was the highest job I could hold with the company with my present degree. As I mentioned before, my supervisor is an alumni of WWU. She began ‘encouraging’ me to apply to the program. The hard part was something that I didn’t like to admit to myself, much less others, I didn’t so much ‘earn’ my BA as I ‘happened’ to get enough successful credits to graduate with a 2.4 gpa. Not exactly something that I want printed on my business card. Whenever the idea of applying for the MSW program came up, I would smile and dismiss it by saying, “Yeah, I need to look into that”.

Last August at my annual review, my supervisor cut to the chase. She told me that I needed to get started on that degree so that I could take her job when she retires. WHAT!?! OK, no pressure!

The application packet arrived and I gave it its due… placing it in the sort baskets on the filing cabinet. There it stayed until after New Year 2008, when she asked when I was going to get the reference forms to her so she could get them into the admissions office. I guess the real reason I was dragging my feet was the knowledge that they wanted a minimum of a 2.75 gpa for admissions. If I didn’t try, I couldn’t fail.

I went to a QnA session for the program back in March. I asked people (like the Dean of the college) about the criteria for admissions. I found out the admissions board looks at everything you have to offer and weighs whether you would be a success in the program. I drove back to Pendleton that night a bit encouraged.

I passed out the reference forms, applied for financial aid and wrote a 12-page application essay. I really wanted the essay to say EVERYTHING about why I wanted to get into the program. Also, I wanted to explain my past. The paper needed to be a max of 6-pages, there was A LOT of editing. Once it was mailed, it was a waiting game. I got a letter in mid-May saying they had all the transcripts to complete my application, and would begin the process of determining whether I was going to be a part of the program in Fall 2008.

As June was wearing on, the knot in my stomach grew tighter and tighter. I knew they were laughing at my grades. “How on earth does this guy have the gall to apply to graduate school with under-graduate grades like this?!?!” I tried to quash the feelings into a tight little ball (because that works so well), but The Wife kept asking me what was wrong (I hate it when she does that). I finally told her what was eating away at me. She suggested I call them and tell them what they already know, I was a lousy student 15-20 years ago.

I dragged my feet on that too, finally calling the Graduate Assistant in the Social Work office. I told her what had me worried, that it had me tied in knots waiting for the rejection letter. She said the words that took a ton of pressure off me, “Do you think you are the only one trying to better your life while holding bad grades from decades ago?” She suggested I make an appointment with the Chair of the Admissions Board, to explain to him what I had told her. I went up to campus on June 24th to chat with the man.

We had a very nice chat. I explained to him in light of almost insurmountable ignorance when I was 18-24, I managed to get a degree that allowed me to do something that I truly enjoyed. The part of my day that I get the biggest charge out of are those moments when I can help my clients. Sometimes I can even detect a feeling of gratefulness coming from deep within the dark recesses of their clouded minds. When I left there he told me that there were three options. 1. Denial of Admission (yippee!) 2. Admission as a non-matriculated student (I could take classes, pay for them and not get financial aid. Yeah I could do that).  3. Admission on a provisional status.

When I left his office that day, I had a very clear impression that #3 was the direction in which I was headed. All I had to do is wait for the letter. So I waited….

Last Tuesday, I couldn’t take it anymore. I called the office and reminded him of who I was and asked about my status. He said he would call me back. tick-tock, tick-tock…. When he called back he told me that there had been a delay in the process, what with summer term and the Independence Day holiday. I should get my letter by the end of the week.

I finally got the letter that told me what I already knew, I was a ‘provisional’ student at Walla Walla University in the Master of Social Work program. The provisional status means that I will have to pull a 3.00 gpa during the Fall term. The thing is that the program requires a 3.00 gpa anyway. No problem.

Today, I mailed the letter accepting my financial aid award and set up an advisory & orientation appointment on August 5th. Fall Term begins on September 22d.

Holy Crap! I’m going back to college! If all goes according to plan, I will have EARNED an MSW by June 2010.