"Kids, have you seen my backpack ?" and Other Inspirational Stories of Non-Traditional Students

About the Book

"Some are single, some are married, some have kids, some do not, some are twenty-four, some are sixty-four We are not straight out of high school living four more years of playfulness. Some of us are in college to improve our future or the future of our children. Many of us are changing an academic legacy by being the first in our families to graduate from college. Others are starting again after military service or making a new path out of a dead-end job or relationship "

" I was tired of having spaghetti every night, sick of living in a dump of an apartment. The thought of having children was out of the question. I couldn't believe this was my life. An education was the only way to change that."

" Hearing those phrases "It's a girl" and "You may now kiss the bride" made me think, "I am now a wife and a mother never again a student"."

"The desks sure hadn't changed, but in the past 20 years, I sure had."

Non-traditional students face challenges well beyond academia. In this anthology, adult learners share their personal journeys. Facing fears, overcoming obstacles, to graduation day, these stories will inspire anyone considering their own education endeavor.

About the Author

While Donna Talarico was completing this project, she was serving as an admissions representative at a career school in Pennsylvania. Meeting hundreds of students of all ages and backgrounds made her realize the magnitude of struggles and rewards alike that non-traditional students must overcome to achieve success. There, not only did she motivate adult learners to begin their new careers, but also was inspired to return to school herself after taking a five-year hiatus in the 'real-world' after her sophomore year. Talarico earned a BA in communication studies from Wilkes University and then went on to complete her MFA in creative writing, also at Wilkes. For the past decade, she's been a contributing writer to several local and regional publications. She spent a few years working in marketing it in the eCommerce and social media realm and served as an adjunct instructor of public relations. Today, she works as a web content editor at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.