Hey everyone!  I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself.  My name is Michelle and I am the new communications assistant at ACMAPS and this summer I will be posting some very valuable and helpful information for our mature and part-time students here at York.

Now, a little about me.  I am in my fourth year here, a hybrid transfer/mature student, studying a double major in Criminology and Psychology.  I am also a widow, a mother and a daughter to aging parents.  When we talk about ‘plates being full’, mine, more often than not, is overflowing.

The decision to return to school after a long, fruitful career as a senior law clerk at a successful boutique law firm was not easy, but not attending university in my younger years was one of the greatest regrets in my life and getting a degree is something that was truly important for me to accomplish.  That drive, coupled with the fact that my oldest daughter started her first year here the year before I did, pushed me to finally decide to take that step…the rest is history, or rather, my future.

It’s stories like mine that I hear from those of us who have lived a little longer than the majority of students at York that keep me going as well and it’s stories like these that I would like to be able to share with you throughout the summer, a time when being in school can be very trying, to help keep us ALL going.

Now that you know a little about me, I’d like to hear from you.  Share your story with me, what was your motivation for returning to school? What keeps you going?  And let me know if I can share your motivational story with others.

Email: mspen@my.yorku.ca