‘Plus 50’ students receive inspiration and information at VGCC
Local adults, aged 50 and over, recently received encouragement and advice about pursuing higher education at a special Vance-Granville Community College workshop. The event, held July 16 in the Civic Center on VGCC’s Main Campus, was entitled “Over 50 and Going Back to School, What a Great Idea!” and was attended by approximately 65 people.
The featured speaker was Mike Collins, president of The Perfect Workday Company in Raleigh, who has led numerous seminars at VGCC and across the state. Collins began by asking the rhetorical question “Am I crazy to go back to school?” to which he replied, “You are probably crazy if you don’t!” Collins resumed his education at age 50-plus himself, in his case for graduate studies at Duke University.
He cited three major reasons to enroll in college in middle age, the first being financial. “Learners are earners,” Collins said. “Furthering your education will help you be the right person at the right place at the right time in your career.” Second, he said, by going back to school, “you can be a role model for others in your family.” Finally, Collins said that lifelong learning tends to improve a person’s physical and mental health.
The presenter said there can be advantages to learning at an older age. “At ‘plus-50,’ you can now focus on success more than you could in your younger days, when you may have been distracted,” Collins told the audience. “You also bring to school some wisdom that you didn’t have before. Your wisdom can sometimes actually benefit the younger students.” He encouraged adults not to fear the expense of education. “You might think that college costs too much, but if you do your part, the people at VGCC will do their part to get you through school,” Collins said. He also offered tips for adult learners concerning attitude, time management and different learning styles. Quoting the poem “Invictus,” Collins called upon each attendee to be “the captain” of his or her destiny.
The workshop also included breakfast, remarks by VGCC Plus 50 coordinator Kyle Burwell and an “open house” in which participants could meet with representatives of various college programs.
This event was made possible through support provided by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). In 2013, VGCC received a grant from the AACC’s Plus 50 Encore Completion Program , which itself is funded with a $3.2 million grant provided by Deerbrook Charitable Trust. Although the Plus 50 program emphasizes training for careers in health care, education and social services, coordinator Kyle Burwell noted that VGCC welcomes all “Plus 50” adults in any continuing education or curriculum program to participate. The workshop was the first of its kind organized by VGCC, but Burwell said she hopes to conduct more programs in the future.
For more information, contact Kyle Burwell at burwellk@vgcc.edu or (252) 738-3276 .
Above: Mike Collins (center) addresses participants in the “Plus 50” workshop at VGCC. (VGCC photo)
