Joanna Eberts

Every year over 2,000 incoming freshmen come to RIT just months after their high school graduation. The anticipation of college horror stories coming true puts many on pins and needles long past the first week of classes. However, not all freshmen share this humble beginning. Instead of leaving high school, some more mature students take time out of their career and away from their families to return to academics.

Fourth year marketing major Karen Whigham didn’t go through RIT’s Week of Welcome, however she knows firsthand exactly how important having a college education is. “When I first started back to school, I felt intimidated and overwhelmed,” said Whigham. “Not so much by the classwork, but by the college culture.”

Whigham started at RIT as a wife and mother of four, three of which she saw off to RIT. On top of taking 18 credits this quarter, Whigham works two jobs, takes care of aging parents and her home, tries to pay attention to her husband, and never seems to be off-duty as a mother to her four children. As if she has time for anything else, she still maintains social ties with her friends whom she considers a part of her support system while she finishes up her degree program.

With the economy so bad, going back to school is the only option, when 20-something-year-olds with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees are taking the jobs the older generation once held. The way things are, suddenly 10 plus years of experience doesn’t matter unless it is paired with an expensive sheet of paper known as a bachelor’s degree. Many students can testify to this, as they see their parents are going through the same hardships. Whigham came to RIT to stand out from the competition by getting a degree to offset the “age factor” in employers’ minds.

Joanna Eberts

The age factor plays a role in defining exactly who the non-traditional students are at RIT. Most students see non-traditional students as people around their parents’ age. “Traditional students address me as they might address their parent, which has everyone acting a bit cautious,” elaborated Whigham.

So, what makes a traditional student? Our parents might say traditional students are lucky, eat a lot of pizza, party a lot, study a little bit, protest about current issues, don’t have that many responsibilities, and experiment to find themselves. It is arguable that both age groups have these things in common, but perceived differences deter conversation outside of class. Since over 80 percent of RIT students are traditional, most services, clubs and other programs are geared towards them.

“Non-traditionals come to RIT with a wealth of ‘real world’ experience,” said Whigham.

Whigham is president of Tigers Non-Traditionals, a support group for the non-traditional student. She started the club after fellow non-traditionals she knew attempted to come back for their degrees, but couldn’t finish. It wasn’t until she did research on non-traditional students for a professional business communication class that she found out how large the non-traditional student population was.

From here, the idea for the group really began to materialize. With help from fourth year Marketing major Quinn Schlegel, vice president and co-founder, and encouragement from Lecturer in Communication Susan Widrick, she presented the idea to the E. Phillip Saunders College of Business. Assistant Dean for Student Services of SCB, Kathy Ozminkowski, gave them the green light to start the group. Students from other colleges are able to join the group as well. Whigham stated “Knowing that there are others around this campus, who have the same concerns or questions that you do, can make you feel a little less isolated.”

Joanna Eberts

Non-traditional learners have also been getting some lime-light lately. NBC’s new prime time show “Community” highlights a group of traditional and non-traditional students going to community college in order to better their current situations. Through comedy and television morals, “Community” showcases that with a common goal, no matter at what stage of life, people can get along.

The non-traditional student experience isn’t just limited to middle-aged men and women. Many students choose to start higher education at a two-year school, eventually transferring to a four-year university.

Despite the challenges faced by non-traditionals and the tension between them and their younger counterparts, they persevere. After all, the desire to learn is timeless.