8A KULTURE
THE UNIVERSITY OF BARRY KANSAS
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2006
who
Nontraditional students at the University of Kansas
what
They want the college experience sometimes with extra obstacles.
when
> Parents Night Out on Sept. 29. Tailgate party scheduled for Oct.7.
whv
> You don't have to be the typical student to go to college.
Eloid Jones, 31, Merriam graduate student, picks up her daughter Avery Jones, four days at Hilltop Child Development Center on Tuesday before going to a night class. Eloid commutes to Lawrence from Merriam to attend classes as well as work as a graduate teaching assistant. Eloid brings Alvarey to the on-campus daycare four days a week while she attends school. It's a real balancing act between the graduate, teachme classes, being a parent and being a spouse," Eloid said.
Lisa Lipovac/KANSAN
College similar for all
BY ANDREA CHAO
Steve Sobczak is considered a nontraditional student. At 32 years old, he said it could be challenging to fit in with the rest of the students.
Sobczk, Sacramento, Calif., senior,
said that, as a nontraditional student,
he stood out "like a sore thump." He also said
he faced housing issues.
"The towers are too expensive, so I rent rooms, but most traditionalists want to rent to traditionals, which I understand. Who wants some creepy old guy sharing their bathroom?" Sobczak said.
When Sobczak was 18, he became a software engineer for the U.S. Marine Corps.
"I stuck with software engineering for 10 years," he said. "But then after Bush took office, the whole field went to hell with off-shoring and the market collapse.
So I decided to start learning something of my own choice."
The term "nontraditional student" encompasses almost 25 percent of the University of Kansas students, according to Nontraditional Student Services. By official definition, a nontraditional student is someone who commutes 10 or more miles to campus, is a parent of dependent children, is married, is a veteran or is three or more years older than classmates.
But Bobczak said the definition could be broader than that. "I would simply say you feel you are," Bobczak said.
Joyce Stevens is the graduate assistant for Nontraditional Student Programming at the Student Involvement and Leadership Center and a nontraditional student herself.
"In addition to trying to plan events that support nonrands and bring them together, I am also a resource for them for
any questions they might have," she said.
"While I might not get the answer to
"While I might not every question I can at least steer them toward the person who will."
Stevens said that the college experience is similar for nontraditional and traditional students, but that nontraditional students sometimes face additional obstacles.
"They tend to have the same challenges," she said. "Fitting in, work, friends, but you also have the insecurity of knowing that you're older, and sometimes
both through the Student Involvement Leadership Center and the Nontraditional
"School is so much more fun and rewarding when you have people from a peer group who understand what you're going through to share it with."
"learning around a spouse and children." The University offers services and support for nontraditional students
JOYCE STEVENS Graduate assistant, Nontraditional Student Programming
S t u d e n t Foundation. There is a monthly newsletter for nontraditional students and a variety of events.
UPCOMING events include a "Parents Night Out" on Sept. 29. The nontraditional student foundation will be providing childcare so that students with children can have a chance to go out. Stevens will also
have a table on jayawk Boulevard during Academic Success Week starting Sept. 25. She will be providing information
for nontraditional students and will have panelists from the student organizations. There is also a tailgate party in the works for Oct. 7.
"School is so much more fun and rewarding when you have people from a peer group who understand what you're going through to share it with," Stevens said.
Sobczak is happy to be experiencing college life and considers it a refreshing break.
"College is actually a vacation after you've worked a career job for many years punching a clock in a cubicle wearing dress-code clothes," he said.
Kansan correspondant Andrea Chao can be contacted at editor@kansan. com.
Edited by Brett Bolton
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