Going to university changed my life. There’s no other way to put it.
Attending college or university was never a given for me. I knew about the benefits of post-secondary education but there was always one nagging question.
How would I afford it?
I don’t come from a wealthy family. I knew early in life that if I wanted to go to college or university, I’d be paying for it on my own.
So I did the only thing I could do: worked hard in my classes, hoping it would be enough to earn some scholarship money.
And that hard work paid off. My scholarship covered tuition for all four years. A small loan paid for one year in residence and I worked part-time to make up the difference. I paid back the loan just before graduation in 2011.
The nature of my degree made it possible to transition into the work world immediately. I’ve been working in a degree-related field ever since. My salary has gone up every year and I use the skills from my degree every day.
But I know that’s not the case for everyone.
Which is why, in this edition of Worth It?, I wanted to share a few thoughts about post-secondary education – good, the bad and some thoughts on how to make the ugly more attractive.