May 10, 2001 - You can go home again. At least, that's what Carol Dowling, a 36-year-old student at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, discovered. Dowling, who came to New York at age 17, chose to explore immigration and exile in life and literature for her English Education thesis. "It discusses people on the edge of two different places," said Dowling, a resident of Glen Head. "When I started this thesis, I had lived in this country as long as I had lived in Ireland, and yet I was still extremely ambivalent about my place in America. I had a strong need to choose between my identity as an American and as an Irish immigrant; I needed to separate the two and almost choose between one culture and another. In the year and a half that I spent researching and writing my thesis, I realized I could just be. I no longer had to remain on the brink of betweenness. That type of realization is very liberating."

In part of her thesis, Dowling traces attitudes toward Ireland and America through the writings of such authors as James Joyce, Lisa Carey and Maeve Brennan as they discuss topics such as nostalgia and the clash of cultures. "I noticed that many writers, even though they left Ireland, they had a hard time letting go of it."

Dowling, who grew up on the outskirts of Dublin, understands this feeling. "I get nostalgic about Dublin City and when I go back I feel it's changed so much," she said. "I feel like a slice of the past is slipping away." She left Ireland for better economic opportunities in the early 80s. She came to America as a nanny. "I was young and looking for excitement, " said Dowling. After that position, Dowling worked in the restaurant industry for many years.

But Dowling always knew she wanted to go back to school. When she graduates from college this month, as the first in her family to do so, her mother will be watching. Her two sisters remain in Ireland, but her brother lives nearby in Queens.

To support herself and her now 7-year-old son, Matthew, Dowling started her own day care center, liquidating a 401K she had earned while a paralegal. Now her business, Friends 'n Fun, is successful. She went to Nassau Community College for two years before coming to C.W. Post in January 1999. Balancing school, motherhood and work hasn't come easy. "I see the other students and so many are 21," said Dowling, who will graduate with a 4.0 G.P.A. "I sometimes wish I had done this 10 years earlier. But, I'm happy that I'm finally graduating from college."

Dowling will join 1,400 graduates at C.W. Post's 43rd annual commencement exercises on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 13, 2001. C.W. Post is one of six campuses of Long Island University, the eighth largest private university in the United States. C.W. Post's 11,000 students can choose from a broad range of undergraduate and graduate offerings as well as extensive continuing education programs. C.W. Post has awarded more than 82,000 degrees in its 47-year history. The campus is located on Northern Boulevard (Route 25A) in Brookville.