Challenges of Being An Adult At University

This week, I began a Project Management course based on the PMBOK curriculum from PMI. At the University that I attend, I am the odd student out in the age groupings. Most of the students are untried (for the most part) in life, and between 18-22. At the age of 44, I am sitting with students as contemporaries the ages of my three children. I am the old and wise woman that needs to learn to not jump in all the time with examples they can't comprehend. More than once, I have had a professor heave a deep sigh when I say something that the professor can relate to, but my fellow students cannot. Personally, I would think this an opportunity to expound on the example and bring other students into the conversation from the dark ages of life before the world wide web. However, I am simply learning to take notes and listen mostly.

The Project Management course is at the local community college. It will be for 2 quarters, and meets once a week for 3 hours at a time. The coursework is from books, and we turn in assignments online. We meet to discuss the readings and work on group projects. I was pleasantly surprised as out of the 11 students in the class, only one was from the 18-22 age group. It amazed me to weigh the difference between the chattiness and contribution of the adults as opposed to the students I am in class with. Instead of feeling like everyone is just sitting and waiting for class to end, this class was actively engaged. I don't know if it is the fact that we are all there with the purpose of adding credentials besides required classes for a degree, or the fact that we all come from the working world, not from high school. All I can say, is how wonderful it was to finally have fellow students my age to engage with. Every day holds new experiences and opportunities, I am trying to make the most of every one.