Smiling Christine Grier  in green shirt
“UD’s ACCESS advisor made me feel so comfortable, and made me feel that it was doable.”

“I initially attended college for two years, but did not complete my degree at that time. I served a mission for my church, got a great job, met my husband, got married, and everything was great. At various points, I planned on restarting my degree.”

“But when our youngest child started kindergarten, I decided I did not want to go back to 9-to-5 corporate America, I wanted to teach. With four kids and working part-time in real estate, I knew it might be a challenge to complete my degree.”

“UD’s ACCESS advisor made me feel so comfortable, and made me feel that it was doable. I signed up for two classes, and when I earned A’s, it felt great. I found that my studying techniques and my time management skills were much improved from when I was a younger undergraduate 20 years ago.”

“At first, I was nervous about going back to school — nervous I wouldn’t get good grades, nervous the younger students would think of me as an outsider — but it’s been great, I’ve felt very included. Then later, I became a matriculated student and took 10 credits, then a summer class, and then taking classes full time. I enjoyed going back to school with the younger UD students.”

“This has been a wonderful thing for my children to see. I sit down at the same table where my teenage kids are studying, working on my own coursework. Now that I’m in school, it shows that not only do I expect them to do their best, but they see me doing my best, too.”

Christine Grier graduated from the University of Delaware with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish education.