My College

At the youthful age of 33, I have decided to go back to college. It's something I decided to do when I was 18 when I graduated from high school also. And again when I was 27 when I left the Navy...and again when I was 30 when I had hopes of being accepted into a very competitive Navy program. No, I was not accepted into this program which explains why I am still trying to find my way. All in all, I have attended 5 different colleges, one of them twice. That is just enough to make a list.

6. University of Kentucky: I attended UK in the fall of 2006 when I was attempting to get accepted into a very competitive program in the Navy that paid you to go to graduate school and upon graduation I would be an officer. I was in the master's program for Healthcare Administration. The program wasn't bad and neither were the classes. But UK is in Lexington, KY. I live in Louisville, KY which is about 80 minutes away. I was also working a 40 hour/week job while commuting to Lexington 4 days/week. The schedule was absolutely brutal. And to top it off, I didn't get accepted into the Navy program. Boooooooooo! These are the reasons why UK is put at the bottom of my list.

5. Scott Community College (1994): I went to the great SCC immediately upon graduating high school. I didn't exactly have good grades in high school so none of the major universities wanted me. So me and all my fellow rejects went to SCC and pretended to study. I guess it worked because I was only there for 1 year. My biggest memory of SCC this year was when I was sitting in my Psychology final and my good buddy Jeff Cunningham dared me to give a primal scream immediately before the test started as a tension breaker. Never one to back down from a dare, I did it. Hilarity ensued and I passed the class. Fun times.

4. Scott Community College (2003): When I was discharged from the Navy in December 2002, my plan was to become a police officer. I was on the selection list for the Moline, IL PD but I had no idea when they were going to hire, if they were at all. My best option was to suck it up and go to college. I began my post-Navy education here. It was funny because after everything I dealt with in the military and now that I had a family, college learning was easy. I got straight A's which for me was unheard of. I was absolutely amazed at how easy it was and pretty pissed off I couldn't do this well my first time in college. Because I took so many credits, I earned both an AA and an AS here. Oooooooooo, I know you're jealous.

3. University of Louisville: This is the school I am currently attending. I am currently in graduate school, again, this time for Exercise Physiology. There are a few reasons for this current venture, the main one being that I wanted to get into aerospace physiology. That may or may not happen but I am finally back in a program that I am comfortable with, and I don't have to drive 80 minutes each way for. It's a little weird being the "old guy" in the program. I am currently 33 and the rest of the students are 23-26. Oh well, I like to refer to it as being well seasoned.

2. Saint Ambrose University: I earned my BA in Fitness and Human Performance here after my second stint at SCC. I learned so much about the fitness field here basically because I was an absolute sponge while attending here. I had my nose in every journal and textbook I could find. My advisor, Heather Medema-Johnson was a wealth of knowledge and helped me a ton. It was a little torturous to see the football team practicing right outside my building and I couldn't be out there with them. Especially when I knew I could have easily gotten on the team. Stinkin' family obligations. Oh well.

1. Iowa State University: Sure most of this year was spent in a drunken stupor and a little blurry. Sure I made some really stupid mistakes here. Sure I quite the football team too soon. Those things being said, I absolutely loved ISU and have held all my subsequent schools to the standard the Cyclones have set. I vividly remember the phone call I received from the football coach asking if I could be at the school in 2 days for mini-camp. I would've been there in 2 hours if he needed. That was the start of my time there. Living in the Theta Delta Chi house was a blast, but I think academically I would have been better in a dorm. The guys I met there are still friends to this day. ISU is in my blood and I will always be a Cyclone. Unfortunately I married a Hawkeye. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!