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July 23, 2007

Older incoming freshmen becoming more common

By GINA KINSLOW The Glasgow Daily Times Mon Jul 23, 2007, 11:29 AM CDT

GLASGOW — Linda Kennison worked as a certified nursing assistant for 28 years before deciding to go back to school to earn her registered nursing degree.

“As we grow older we change and what we expect out of life changes, and I just decided I wanted more,” she said.

Kennison, of Summer Shade, has worked as a CNA for T.J. Samson Community Hospital for 17 years.

When she graduates, she hopes to work in the medical / surgery area as an RN.

For Kennison, going back to school was made a little easier with the help of Mary Ann Bokkon, a counselor with the Educational Opportunity Center at Western Kentucky University’s Glasgow Campus.

“Mary Ann has been my right arm,” Kennison said.

Bokkon helped Kennison complete all the necessary paperwork in order to enroll in nursing classes.

Educational Opportunity Centers are located throughout the country. There is one on WKU’s main campus in Bowling Green, plus the one on in Glasgow.

EOCs are funded by federal grants and are designed to primarily serve displaced or underemployed workers from families with incomes under $24,000.

“We provide information and paperwork assistance,” Bokkon said. “A lot of times the prospect of getting all the paperwork (together) can be kind of complex. We try to be a one stop shop. When a person comes in we can help them locate their high school transcript (and) get their application ready for the school they want to go to.”

If prospective students are unsure about which school they want to attend, Bokkon said they can show them programs that are available at the various schools.

“One of the main things we do is file the FASFA, which stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid,” she said. “This is the form you have to fill out if you want to receive a federal or state need-based grant.”

Michele Schlinsog, center coordinator, said the center at WKU serves more than 1,000 students a year in a seven county area.

Schlinsog fears there are a lot of people who don’t know the center exists and she wants to let them know about it and how it can help them.

“We just want to let people know it’s here,” she said. “We want people to know that we are here so we can help them. We can help them muddle through all the paperwork (and) just find their way.”

Schlinsog and Bokkon have helped people earn their GEDs and then go on to earn a college degree.

Some people shy away from going back to school because they fear they will be the only non-traditional student in their classes.

“That’s not the case,” Bokkon said.

“I think the average age on any given campus in this area is 26 to 28 for an incoming freshman,” Schlinsog said.

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