After 32 years, dad is now IT grad

After 32 years, dad is now grad | StarTribune.com

Anyone have any inspiring “return to college stories”? I want to go back to college and get a BA in IT once I get an IT job. Right now I just have my associates degree from a for profit non-regionally accredited college.

Alberti, now 49, never suffered from lack of direction. He knew he wanted to work with computers from the moment he sat down at a terminal. It was 1977, and he was in high school in St. Francis. He needed no instruction and soon was rewriting the program's code.

"You know the part in Harry Potter, when he gets on the broom for the first time? His hair stands on end," Alberti said. "That's what happened with me and computers."

His father had never graduated from high school, much less college, but Alberti wanted to major in computer science. He chose the University of Minnesota because he had long been hacking into its mainframe. "So I already knew everybody," he said. "It was like coming down to be with my friends."

He praises the U's Program for Individualized Learning and its advising for leading him through, melding his experience with other courses to create a bachelor's in information security management.

"All of that knowledge and experience he has with information security, he's able to bring that to bear in his degree through projects," Hanson said.

I love this part, because the advisor tells him to take advance calculus, because calculus is full.
From the website…

But he quickly discovered that he had no study skills. When the calculus class he needed was full, an adviser told him to take honors calculus instead. This moment he compares to "The Simpsons."

"You know that one when Bart is dropped into that class that's making jokes about double derivatives?" he said. "'Get it, Bart? Get it?'"

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Comments

paul78

Thanks for sharing the news article. I often struggle with my own decision about completing my bachelors. For me, it's been so many years that getting a bachelors has become largely irrelevant. In the last few months, from hanging out at TE, I've gained a slightly different perspective on why I may want to consider finishing.

The article that you posted has really tipped me towards thinking about finishing again.

And all the postings about WGU have made me think that there may even be a path for me. I actually plan to call them tomorrow to see if their program makes sense for me.

ptilsen

This makes me feel much better about finishing my degree slowly and relatively late in life. I won't even be 30 when I'm done, and here one of the guys who invented the Gopher protocol is just finishing up at the age of 49.

erpadmin

Well...I finished at 34. Don Nelson has all of us beat though.

Physical Education degree aside, moral of the story is it is never too late to get a degree.

Devilry

here is another non-IT degree, same moral of the story. I actually heard it on the radio this morning actually:

Columbia University janitor cleans up with bachelor's degree - latimes.com

cyberguypr

I finished my degree last week @ 35. If you are alive it's never to late to accomplish a goal.

DevilWAH

I fully intend to study for at least one more degree.

I quite fancy when I am about 50ish to get a psychology/counselling degree and move in to child counselling in my later years. I love IT but would love to do some psychology / neurology later on

JustFred

As long as you are alive and have your health, it's never too late.

I'm probably one of the oldest students in my evening classes with another guy in his late 40s and still i keep going and telling myself i will graduate someday.

paul78

Thanks Fred. Good comment. I'm in my late forties too. Glad I'm not alone at this.