Section C·Page 14
The University Daily Kansan
Monday, August 21, 2000
Long road leads to academic success for nontrad student
By L. Candy Ruff
Special to the Kansan
Karen Boyd is making her way through academic challenges at the University of Kansas.
A nontraditional student working toward a bachelor of arts degree in sociology, Boyd, Kansas City, Kan., senior, credits an understanding counselor and a student organization with helping her reach her goals.
Boyd was in her mid-30s when she arrived at the University with an associate's degree from Kansas City Kansas Community College. She saw only 18 and 19 year olds on campus, and she felt left out. Then she discovered the Student Development Center and happened into Laura Morgan's office.
"That visit turned my situation around," she said.
The Organization of Adult Knowledge Seekers is for married students, veterans, students with children, students older than 24, part-time students, self-supporting students and other nontraditional students.
"Something as simple as providing lockers for us is an issue I have been fighting for. We also wanted a stronger voice on the Student Senate, and we now have four nontraditional students served there," she said.
Pushing for better access to childcare touches many of the students with children. The Hilltop Child Development Center, Boyd pointed out, has a waiting list, forcing stu
dents to look off-campus for childcare providers. She would like Watkins Memorial Health Center to hire a pediatrician to care for students' children, she said.
"It's those type of concerns we are able to bring to the attention of the Student Senate," she said.
Being able to stand up and speak out are characteristics new to Boyd. In high school, she did not easily express herself. Her decision to drop out at age 17, she said, was the result of anxiety and self-doubt.
After an unsuccessful stint at telemarketing, Boyd sought employment at a financial management company in Kansas City, Kan. She telephoned the office manager.
"I called her every day for a month, and finally, she told me to come in for an interview. Pushing myself like that was not like me, but I wanted that good job," Boyd said.
The opportunity to improve her secretarial skills increased her confidence, and within seven months, she finished her GED.
Her timing in the early 1980s for getting college financial assistance was fortunate, she said. At that time, students under 21 could receive dependent benefits if one of their parents was eligible for Social Security disability.
With a Pell Grant and Social Security, she continued her studies, but a change in the Social Security ell
"My brother encouraged me to take the civil service exam, and I did well. I was thrilled to get a job at Fort Leavenworth. I worked almost three years," she said.
gibility requirements ended her dependent benefits in 1985. Boyd left school.
An opportunity to join a faith-based organization and move to Rhode Island gave her a ticket out of Kansas, which she said she needed just then. Besides her religious obligations, Boyd landed another civil service position at the naval base in Newport, R.I. For a single woman, she said, there could not have been a better place.
"Every year there were 2,400 new officers attending the warfare training school. My job was working for the commander of the school. I loved it and planned to stay there forever," she explained.
Her mother's ill health, however, drew her back to Kansas City. Her mother's knee surgery brought Boyd home for six months in 1990. She then returned to Rhode Island. In 1996 her mother contracted leukemia.
"I'm the youngest in the family and the one who could more easily relocate. It broke my heart to leave Rhode Island, but my mother needed me. I moved home in March of 1996," she said.
Her mother became blind later that year and required home health care
around the clock. Cleaning houses was the most flexible job Boyd could find.
She graduated in May 1998 with an associate's degree from Kansas City Kansas Community College.
With the help of Catholic Social Services and in-home nursing assistance, she was able to keep her mother at home until her death in September 1998.
As she faced her mother's death, Boyd took stock of her own life. Her decision to return to Kansas coincided with her commitment to finish school.
"I took a full schedule at KU in the fall of 1998 and was driving back and forth between KU and Kansas City. I was just overwhelmed that first semester after my mother's death. That is why I was so grateful to find the services for us nontraditional students," Bovd said.
By the beginning of 1999, Boyd knew she wanted to become a sociology professor.
"In sociology class I began to face my childhood prejudices. I saw myself change in that class and for the better. You could say I now have a sociology brain." Boyd said.
She put that sociology brain to work to become a McNair Scholar. After she receives a bachelor of arts degree in May 2001, Boyd will seek masters and doctorate degrees. Her sights are firmly set on joining a university staff as a professor of sociology.
Coach's departure would have been a fashion loss
By Jenny Oakson
Kansan guest columnist
When I heard the news on June 30, I shed a tear. Sure, I was hung over, but I cried out of sadness, not pain. Roy Williams was being lured away from Kansas — how could we bear to lose such a fashionable coach?
Don't get me wrong. I follow basketball. But, even more so, I follow a man in a well-put-together suit.
I remember a couple of years ago when I spotted Roy on TV at one of the annual preseason Hawaiian tournaments. His bronzed face brought out the white highlights in his Ken Doll hair. His light-colored suit made the
opposing team's coach look like a mobster. And he was committing an act more daring than starting T.J. Whatley — he was wearing sandals with a tie. But he could work it.
I'm not alone in noticing Coach Williams' (or his wife's) impeccable taste. In Spike Lee's He Got Game, Roy was debonair as he played a less shiny version of himself. Spike knows what's up. Roy's photogenic. Why else would my mom tape the games? It's all about freeze-frame.
This past season. Roy showed off his knack for accessorizing. His oh-so-Ben-Franklin eyeglasses were not only stylish, but also flattering to his
owal face shape. Yes, some ties were hideous, but the man is a risk taker. Anyone can look good in paisley, but how many men can wear a multicolored, spectrum-themed prop from A Clockwork Orange piece of neck candy?
I wouldn't have been so devastated if I had thought potential new coaches could be as suave — oh yeah, and as good at coaching as Roy. But just look at who the candidates were:
- That big guy from Utah who always wears sweaters — All I have to say is Mr. Belvedere. Boo-hiss.
- Rick Pitno — Make the pass or you sleep with the fahes. This man
can wear a suit and gets extra points for cuff links, but is that a pinky ring I see?
- Bob Hill — Boring. If this coach were a dish he'd be boiled carrots. I see no flair and lots of earth tones.
- Matt Doherty — Hmmm. He reminds me of Sam Malone back in the Shelley Long days of Cheers. As assistant coach under Roy for so long, he has definitely learned from the master, but I was worried he would have ventured into pastels.
We would have all missed you, Roy. But I would have especially missed your style, baby.
Center helps nontrads get settled in
By L. Candy Ruff Special to the Kansan
Embrace the new technology. Find time to study.
Family is important. Don't be afraid to ask for help.
These are the messages Mary Ann Rasnak delivers to the 5,000 nontraditional students attending the University of Kansas each semester.
Rasnak, director of the Student Development Center, said nontraditional students should consider the center their anchor.
"It's all about connecting," Rasnak said. "We are here for them from the orientation."
The orientation at the end of June focused on challenges nontraditional students face when returning to school.
Students are classified as nontraditional if they are
parents, married, military veterans or are three or four years older than most of their classmates. Students who commute more than 10 miles to campus also are considered nontraditional.
"It's all about connecting. We are here for them from the orientation."
Mary Ann Rasnak Student Development Center Director
The center offers assistance to all students. It provides academic advising and support as well as help with financial aid, scholarships and grants. Rasnak said the center also offered help with concerns such as commuting, housing, health and medical services, disabilities and employment and career planning.
"Students who are parents find a special welcome because returning to school when you have a child is really a difficult challenge." Rasnak said.
KU Hilltop Child Development Center takes children aged 2 to kindergarten and offers an after-school program.
Rasnak said the Dependent Care Referral Services at Room 103 Carruth-O'Leary Hall was the place to begin a childcare plan. In addition, her office maintains an active list of childcare providers in Lawrence and Douglas County.
Student Financial Aid offers childcare grants during the first two weeks of September at the Office of Student Financial Aid. Lack of funds for childcare should never keep a parent from attending college, Rasnak said.
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