Non Traditional College Culture Essay

I have had interactions with family members—one of which includes my mother—in regards to my college career. Since I have taken time off from school to do things like get a job to eat and pay rent, I have put college in the background for a number of years. Thus, I have had uncomfortable conversations about why I have not finished school. This conversation took place leading to the time of entering the BASS program here at CSU Stanislaus. I remember getting upset, not sure at myself or my family members, because I was dangerously approaching the age of thirty and did not have a college degree. It was most difficult getting compared to other uncles and cousins in my family who are school teachers, school administrators, doctors, pharmacist,
I used to get frustrated for getting ridiculed for being a college student with much younger students. It was almost like I was embarrassed for being in community college when I returned. This is upsetting to me because some people have a narrow view of what the American college student should be. When thinking about this further, I realized that I am apart of a relatively new, and fast growing, culture that exists in the college community. The culture I am speaking of is the non-traditional college culture. It is important to me to shed light on this culture group, but one might ask why is it significant? There are three components to look at while answering this question: (1) the non-traditional student has potential send a different kind of graduate into the real world, (2) to push forward the non-traditional student is to push forward the economy, and (3) while there is an issue of equality within lower to upper class, there needs to encouragement for more to get educated in the high demanding world. These components help explain this new culture, and why people at large and institutions should be concerned with this