Three Decades Later,
Port Washington Resident Completes Degree
Some students get sidelined and take forever to finish their college
educations. Others say it only feels like forever. Wendy Rosenberg was
awarded her Bachelor's degree on Sunday, May 9 from the C.W. Post Campus
of Long Island University - a mere 30 years after receiving her Associate's
degree in Massachusetts, and she says she loved every minute of it.
Rosenberg, a resident of Port Washington, was a flight attendant for
three years, then spent 25 years caring for her family. She says she has
no regrets spreading out her education over three decades.
"When my children got to be college age, I realized I wanted to
do what they were doing," she said. "It looked more interesting
than working."
She found she needed some hand-holding from advisers when she started
her college adventure, but her fears were short-lived.
"When you're an adult student, you look at the whole process differently,"
she explained. "The second time around, you have enough experience
so that almost everything you study relates to something in your life.
When I took earth science, I found I had traveled enough that I knew what
they were talking about."
The mother of two received a B.A. degree in sociology and anthropology.
"It was a great experience being in school at the same time as my
two children. We could talk about who was having finals, who was writing
papers," she said. "My daughters, Abby and Sarah, gave me a great
deal of support and love without which I could not have reached this goal."
Rosenberg is planning a combination graduation party and 50th birthday
celebration in the coming weeks. Then, she will work at an archaeological
dig in South Dakota this summer.
"I'd like to get my master's in archaeology, but if that takes
30 years, I'll be an artifact myself by the time I graduate," she
quipped.
C.W. Post is a campus of Long Island University, one of the nation's
eighth largest private universities in the country. 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 80,000 degrees in its 45-year history. The campus is located
on Northern Boulevard, (Route 25A) in Brookville.
