Adult Learner Interview Essay

Interview with a Non-Traditional Adult Learner: An Interpretative Report
Introduction
Non-traditional students can be identified as students who may have "non-traditional" characteristics which may include being financially independent, or delayed enrollment into college (not entering right out of high school), or are returning to college after having "stepped-out" at least once, or are working full time or attending college part time, or have children, are married, widowed or divorced, or commute to campus, or are military veterans. At present this description could be almost all students enrolled in an institution of higher learning. Ryan Coon is one of these non-traditional adult learners. He is returning to higher education after a five year break in his education. Ryan Coon is my twenty-four year old son who has been
self-sufficient since he was fifteen. Ryan recently returned to college after a five year absence that took him on a journey of what the world has to offer an undereducated individual.
Discoveries
At the age of fifteen, Ryan started his path to higher education, being selected for a co-op program that required him to take college courses while in high school (starting his junior year) and work thirty hours a week with pay and benefits at the Corpus Christi Army Depot. Ryan was on the road to finishing an AAS in Helicopter Maintenance/Repair and Power Plant Management. Ryan was on the Dean’s List and taking Honors courses. His job was paying him to continue taking classes, and he was working at least forty hours each week. Ryan’s future was looking very promising with the vision of completing his AAS in one more semester. By the time Ryan graduated from high school at age seventeen, he already had a car of his own, a retirement account started, and money in the bank. At the age of eighteen, Ryan moved to Dallas to work at an Army Depot there. He transferred there to be with his fiancée. Soon after arriving in Dallas, Ryan was offered more money and gained employment with Boeing. While in Dallas, Ryan was unable to pursue his education. He could not afford to pay daily living expenses, hold a job, and go to school. Soon Boeing lost its contract and laid off the workers last hired. Ryan found himself unemployed and searching for employment with a company that was stable.
Ryan ended up working as a machinist, but the company soon went bankrupt. Once again he was unemployed and searching for employment. After many odd jobs and setbacks, at the age of twenty-one, Ryan became a father and lost his job because his daughter was hospitalized for a week. Eventually Ryan was employed with NAPA Auto where he became manager. About a year ago, Ryan and his daughter moved to Corpus Christi to start a new life closer to his family. NAPA said they would transfer his job to Corpus, but when he got to Corpus, once again he had no job. For the past year, Ryan worked odd jobs and even learned lawn maintenance with TruGreen where he was employed as the area manager. This job entailed long hours six days a week, and left no time for his daughter. Ryan decided he wanted to finish his education so he could get a decent paying job that would also allow for him to spend quality time with his daughter. Being a single father, Ryan decided he needed to be in his daughter’s life more and set a good example for her to
follow. Ryan now works full-time from home as a web designer and developer. He attends school online where he is studying for a BS in internet technology. Right now he is a full-time single father, student, and employee. He has about one and one-half years left to finish his BS. He knows that once he has finished his BS, he will continue on to get his MS. He decided on this field of study because he sees the future in technology, and he enjoys creating and working on computers. Ryan believes the juggling he is doing now will be worth it when he is done and has a job that allows him to be with his daughter. Ryan would advise other non-traditional students to go to school to get some kind of additional education. Ryan also knows that it is easier to go get an education right out of high school. He has learnt the hard way what an education can do to help make one’s life a bit easier.
Interview Findings Ryan, like other non-traditional students, has returned to school after trying to pursue a career without a degree. He has decided to get a degree to further the career choice he has made. Like other non-traditional students, he is balancing a job, family, and school. He is happier now that he has decided to return to school and get a degree in a field that he enjoys. This balancing act is difficult at times but will be worth all the trouble once his educational goals are achieved. Like so many non-traditional students, Ryan has taken the hardest steps in getting a degree—returning to the classroom. Ryan also believes it is easier to relate the courses he takes to what he is doing in his life. He believes it is easier to learn when a connection is made to the real world and the coursework. Like many other non-traditional students, Ryan has the determination, and it is the right time for him to return to the classroom. He is at a crossroad in his life where he knows that he needs to do something to improve his life, not only for himself, but his daughter as well.