Coming from a blue-collar family, I was the first person in my family to attend and graduate from college. My parents–a school electrician and cafeteria cook–allowed me to stay at home while I “tried out” the local community college to see if it was for me. That was in 1968. Fullerton College (then Fullerton Junior College) was literally just down the road from our home in Placentia, California. After two years I transferred to California State University (then just a College) Fullerton. I picked my major, American Studies while perusing the catalog the night before registration. In that department, I could combine history, cultural anthropology, and literature. A good mix for me. While working to pay for fees (tiny by comparison to today) I remained at home for all but a few months of the three years it took to graduate.
I married this guy just after we both graduated in 1973. I had a degree (and an MRS), but no real skills to offer an employer–other than my dazzling smile and sparkling wit. I worked at the local photo studio, a remedial reading clinic, an upscale restaurant, and the California Employment Department.
When my husband’s job moved us to Carson City, Nevada our house was next door to a local teacher who helped me get a job as a Teaching Assistant. That job led me eventually to seek a teaching certificate through the University of Nevada, Reno. I began my first teaching job in 1987. I enjoyed a very satisfying and challenging career as an educator.
In the intervening years, I’ve taken both academic and community courses at Western Nevada College and Truckee Meadows Community College.
All in all, colleges have served me well. They gave me the perspective to see the context and history inherent within every issue and world event. That foundation continues to help me both appreciate and think critically about the world around me and my place in it. I continue to be grateful for the opportunity.
Lorie Smith Schaefer 