...hey there y'all. :)
So it has indeed been quite a while since I updated this school blog. Part of it has been that I have been very, very busy. The other part has been because I have been becoming more and more dissatisfied with the educational experience I have been having.
To start off, when I decided to go back to school, it was a decision I thought long and hard about before committing to. Returning to school costs a lot of money and is a very big commitment to make.
I had seen the old Webster College building with it's scrolling marquee sign for a while and watched as it turned into Rasmussen College. Being that it was just a little one-building looking place, and having already been to something considered more a "vocational" college than a real university, I pretty much ignored it.
However, I happened to receive a postcard mailing about an open house they were having about their technology and design programs. Being in the worst county in Florida for unemployment, and having been without steady work for a while, it seemed the time might be right to look into a return to school and into finally completing a Bachelor's degree.
So I went to the open house and while the building wasn't spectacular and the inside not a whole lot better, what was interesting was talking to the people and seeing the presentations. Digital media, and most specifically animation, is something that I have been interested in for a very long time. It was interesting to me to find some place here in dinky old Ocala that had that kind of programming. I jumped right into taking the placement testing, working with an admissions rep, and actually met with the director of the entire Technology and Design program for all of the Rasmussen campuses, and I liked what he had to say. He mentioned wanting Rasmussen to be one of the "go-to" schools for design, and said that he thought it was important to get more women into the design field. So....I signed up, registered, and started classes.
As an older student going back to school, I started this blog to chronicle the journey. To keep a diary if you will of the experience not only for friends and family to read and follow, but for myself to see my own growth. I believe I have grown throughout this process.
But, also as an older student, and someone that has worked at a major university, I know problems when I see them. I've been involved in the business world in one capacity or another since the age of 16. So when I started to see problems with the school, when I started noticing issues in the programming, then I started to lose my faith in the experience. And unlike a lot of the younger students at Rasmussen, I'm not afraid to speak up, voice my concerns, and push back when I'm being told to make due with substandard situations and classes, and I have no problem taking my business elsewhere when it becomes apparent that things are not what they appeared in the beginning to be.
This quarter has been about the worst ever so far in my education at Rasmussen. There have been issues with textbooks, software incompatibility, computer lab issues, online class issues (that if you scroll back you will see I have been having since the very beginning with the online design classes), and one massive issue with an instructor in my Conversational Spanish class. All of this has led me to stop enjoying the educational process.
I've always been a perpetual student. I love to learn new things and get excited at the prospect of challenging myself with new software applications and learning new ways of doing things. I stalked the online classes when I first began, unable to wait to see the new assignments every week and dive into the newness of it all. Over the last two quarters, that shine has definitely come off. Now I must drag myself to the campus, force myself to access the online classroom, and dread opening the books and "dealing" with the work. This feeling, this unhappiness, has caused me a lot of stress this quarter.
I could sit here and laundry list every single issue that Rasmussen has, but I'm not going to. For one thing, it would have no purpose, and for another, I'm tired of thinking about it and dealing with it. What I can say is that it has become apparent to me lately, and over the course of this quarter especially, that I've been rooked. Scammed. Taken for a ride. Pick your metaphor. And this makes me sad, angry, irritated, and tired of the whole damn thing. I hate that I've wasted all this time at a school that does not really care about its students, nor about helping them to succeed in their goals. I'm pissed off at the exorbitant amount of money I have spent to go there when I have now found that one of the premiere digital design programs is only an hour and a half away and $300 less per credit hour. I'm sick of dealing with scheduling issues and nonsense. I'm just over it all.
So....in an attempt to regain that spark, that excitement for learning, I went and met with an admissions representative from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. And it was refreshing! The programming is exciting! And it's a real college, with a real curriculum that includes great elective classes, not just the junk ones that Rasmussen offers. It's a nice campus, friendly people, and a chance for me to have the real college experience I never had.
I will have to go to a local community college for one semester (hopefully this summer) and take another math class and a second Spanish class (oh help!) to get the full requirements for admission to UCF. If all goes well, and I can get into CFCC (or whatever they're calling themselves now) for this summer quarter, and get those two classes done, then I can head to Orlando and UCF in the Fall. I think a lot of my gen ed classes will transfer, but I think I'm going to end up back at square one with the design classes. However, their animation program is much more advanced and I am, once again, excited at the prospect of learning. Already I can feel they have a real commitment to seeing their students succeed, not just in getting people in the door and rooked into whatever lackluster programming they want to provide.
I wish I had done a bit more research about other programs in the area. I did check UF, and Rasmussen's program looked better than that, but I never thought about UCF until a friend mentioned it. Turns out my sister-in-law is an alumni from there and sings its praises. I guess you have to sometimes take the long way to finding the right place to be. Life is weird that way sometimes.
So....I am hoping to start back up with this blog and continue to chronicle the newness and experience of an old bird going back to the books. :) Hopefully these new changes can reignite that spark and snark and make this blog something fun to read again.
As far as the current situation, I am in Week 9 of this current quarter. It feels like it's been going on FOREVER. But, just 2 more weeks to go and then it's done. On Monday I will meet with CFCC to see about summer quarter. Worst case scenario is I can't get into their summer programming because the deadline has passed, but the admissions rep from UCF seemed to indicate that I might be able to make it in under the wire. He also said that as long as I am registered and taking those final two courses, I can apply to UCF and should be good for admittance in the fall. Another great thing about UCF is that the work placement service I use is closer down there and might be able to find me some good work too. So hopefully this is all moving in the right, positive direction.
Thanks for hanging with me y'all and if you would, please keep your fingers crossed and wish me luck! I'm still aiming for nomination for that Animation Short Film Oscar no less then 2 years after graduation. :) Still wanting to intern at Pixar. Those plans are still in motion.
I leave you with this thought - it's never to late to follow your bliss and find that thing that makes you happy and go for it! If you haven't found it yet, what are you waiting for? Life's too short to spend it unhappy - find your spark and shine! :) And also, never let anyone tell you to make due with something less than what you want and deserve. As Eleanor Roosevelt said, "No one has the power to make you feel inferior without your consent." Never, ever, give anyone that. At the end of the day, the best advocate you have for your life is you - DON'T SETTLE! Cheers! :)