Wayne Hutton (2012) & Laura Hutton (2011)

When graduating from high school, our sights were set on getting out in the world. Joining the working world had shown us that a college education was an important asset to career advancement. After a few classes at junior college after high school, life took us in another direction. Our focus became providing for our children, and developing a career. Since our family was our primary focus and the children are only small for a very short time, college was put on hold. While we operated a small business, Wayne pursued an Associate’s degree at Joliet Junior College. The certificate he earned in electrical automated systems benefitted him at his job as he earned a promotion.  We had both come to a point in our lives where our lack of college education became a limiting factor in our careers.  Fortuitously, we received an invitation to a Lewis University Open House in the mail. After hearing all that Lewis had to offer, we decided that the School for Professional and Continuing Education was the right fit for us. Laura added some transfer classes from Joliet Junior College while attending Lewis University.  Our experience at Lewis has been fantastic. We have had the opportunity to work with some wonderful teachers, facilitators and peers. Within weeks of graduation, the job opportunities are already opening up, and we are off on a new adventure as we begin new careers.

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However, with this aggressive pace it takes a lot of planning, organization and commitment. I have an agenda that I carry around everywhere. In the agenda, I prioritize tasks I have to complete every day and I try to plan one week in advance. I schedule my study time and share the schedule with my family. This helps them understand when I need to be left alone to study. I also take advantage of electronics as much as possible. If available, I read my textbooks on an e-Reader while commuting on a train to/from downtown Chicago. On my lunch hour, I prepare homework on a laptop and then in the evenings after dinner, exercise and kid activities, I spend reviewing school work. Weekends I try to get ahead with homework and prepare the week’s schedule.

I chose to go back to school because I want to be an inspiration for my children, nieces and nephews. Higher education is a must to be successful and I want them to always strive to do more. I have to practice what I preach! In addition, I want to have the ability to take my career to the next level. I am always up for a challenge and I want to ensure I have the right qualifications to do so. I do not want to miss an opportunity for promotion because I do not have a degree.

Check out Susie’s words of advice…

http://lewisu.edu/spce/newsletter/index.php/2012/07/09/words-of-advice-student-perspective-on-organizing-for-success/

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How do you juggle home life, work life and school life?

“It takes a lot of planning, organization and commitment. I have an agenda that I carry around everywhere. In the agenda, I prioritize tasks I have to complete every day and I try to plan one week in advance. I schedule my study time and share the schedule with my family. This helps them understand when I need to be left alone to study. I also take advantage of electronics as much as possible. If available, I read my textbooks on an e-Reader while commuting on a train to/from downtown Chicago. On my lunch hour, I prepare homework on a laptop and then in the evenings after dinner, exercise and kid activities, I spend reviewing school work. Weekends I try to get ahead with homework and prepare the week’s schedule”.

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At work, I was having a problem with inventory in my department which is estimated around a million dollars plus, and I didn’t quite understand as to why I was consistently changing my counts. Fortunately, we covered some accounting-inventory scenarios in class and I was able to understand what the potential problems might be and I began to implement what I had learned in class. As I began to research the problem it turned out that our regional distribution center had not been sending us the physical merchandise, although, it was being signed off on in the system. Upon this discovery, I shared this information with my manager and it turned out that it was a district wide problem, possibly even regional. The matter was turned over to management and the matter is still under investigation.

I’m glad to know that my education dollars here at Lewis is well spent.

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When JTHS Infant Childcare Director Deborah Clark learned that Joliet Central freshman KiJuan Sullivan was named Student of the Month for English, it was a moment of celebration, pride and emotion.

Because the moments leading up to KiJuan’s accomplishment tell a story of perseverance. They tell a story of a teenage mother who beat the odds with support and with guidance.

The story began when KiJuan’s mother, Terese, was a student at Joliet Central High School. Terese was an honor student who graduated high school early, but juggling high school and parenting was not easy. The Joliet Township High School Infant Childcare Center was there to help care for her son, KiJuan. “I know that if the Center had not been there, I would not have been able to finish high school,” she said.

Terese recalls the difficulties of teenage parenting. Both her parents worked and could not watch KiJuan while she was at school. “I remember one time KiJuan was sick and I had to take a test. I exhausted every option before pleading with my mother to care for my son for a 50-minute time period while I took this test,” she said. “I had to rush down to the office immediately after taking the test to meet my mother so I could go home and care for my son and so she could go back to work.”

“There were a few female students in the office that were pulling back the blanket on his car seat and ‘oohing and aahing,” she recalls. “One girl commented on how lucky I was to have my mom babysit and how easy I must have it. My mother corrected her and told the girl she was NOT the babysitter. I also told the girls that this was not easy and that I rarely had any help. If I did not have the Infant Childcare Center I wouldn’t have even been there at that moment profusely thanking my angry mother for watching my son while I took a test. I always remember that moment when speaking about being a teen mom.”  Read more and learn how Terese was able to “give back”, click here.

This article was retrieved from the website for Joliet Township High School, www.jths.org .

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When I graduated from high school more than 20 years ago my thoughts were not on further schooling but on becoming part of the “real world.” I wanted to join the workforce immediately, and so I did. What the following decades have proven to me is the extreme importance of a college education. A good, quality education not only provides the knowledge one needs to pursue a satisfying and fulfilling career, but can also provide the moral foundation, discipline, and maturity level needed to succeed not only in the business world, but in life.

Brotherly inspiration and the birth of my son provided me the final motivation to move forward with completing my education. My brother asked me where I wanted to be in four years; the time would pass regardless of what I did, so he suggested that I should make good use of the years and go back to school. I also want to prove to be a good role model for my son-how can I ask him to pursue a formal education when I did not?

I chose Lewis University because so many of my friends and family have gone here – my brother, my sister, my wife and many of our friends are alumni. They have all had a wonderful and fulfilling experience during their time at Lewis, and it has long been an ambition of mine to join their ranks. I graduated with high honors from the College of DuPage in the spring of 2009 and immediately signed up for fall courses at Lewis. I am currently participating in Lewis University’s Information Technology Management program and have found the program to be well structured challenging, and very fulfilling. I very much look forward to fulfilling my dream of becoming an alumnus of Lewis University and all the challenges along the way and after.

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