I wrote this autobiographical essay in response to an assignment on using hyperlinks.
Let me know if you think the links work.
Let me know if you think the links work.
Going To College
by Michelle (Couture) Labbe
My father was the first in his family to go to college after World War II. My paternal grandparents were both born in the United States to families who had migrated down from Canada to work in the wool and steel mills in Fitchburg, Mass. They lived in a three story cold water flat in the French section, called Cleghorn. My father tells me that he remembers his mother always talking to him about when he would go to college. The possibility of him not going to college was never a question in her mind. She knew that in order for her son to rise above the working class, and a life in the mills, he would need an education. And she was right.
Although my grand parents were both hard working, they never would be able to save enough to put my father through college. As circumstances would have it, my father would end up taking advantage of the GI Bill after he served in the army during World War II to complete his education. He studied to become an English teacher at Syracuse University and later became a Guidance Counselor for Fitchburg Public High School after he obtained his Master’s Degree in Education from Fitchburg State University.
The father of three daughters, he encouraged all of us to go to college. When I told him that I wanted to become an actress, he was adamant about my going to a college or university where I could earn a “real” degree and not just take classes in New York City as I had originally intended. Though I did not appreciate it at the time, I have come to appreciate his sage and sound advice. Now, after having had a career as a performer in the “Big Apple”. I am making use of the degree that my father so knowingly insisted that I obtain.
We all know that it has been a long and hard struggle for many in this country to get an education. Today, because of the sacrifice of many individuals, the idea of being educated, at least through high school, is now commonplace. The original purpose of getting a college education in this country was to train up men to become ministers who would then go on to be leaders in our towns and cities during this country’s infancy. After some contemplation, I realized that the modern Colleges and Universities of today are still in the business of training up men and women to become leaders, perhaps not religious leaders that would help to establish a moral foundation for a particular community, but leaders who are taking their place in a globally expanding community which exists on and offline. What has changed, however, is the extent to which our children’s economic future may depend upon them getting a post secondary education.
It is somewhat ironic that I am now faced with convincing students from an economically and educationally deprived area that they should go to college. I am often asked by my students, do I really need to go to college?, to which I respond, “Yes!” “But it is so expensive”, is often the retort. “That is true. But, how much more expensive is the loss of $20,000 plus a year on average over the course of your life time”, I reply. “But I am not a good test taker, I know that I will not do well on the SAT,” she says. “That’s ok”, I interject, “There are more than 800 colleges and universities, some even in our own University system in Maine, that do not require SATs for enrollment. You can go to www.Fairtest.org and see for yourself.” “Getting a college degree is so important today,” I tell them, “that the colleges and universities have made it possible for you to have the opportunity to be dual dual enrolled.” “Dual enrollment? What do you mean?”, they question. “I mean that you can take college level courses while you are still in high school. In some instances you may even complete the equivalent of an Associates Degree or a Professional Certification while still in high school saving you both time and thousands of dollars”, I explain. “These programs have been all over the news for some time now. I’m surprised you haven’t heard about them,” I cajol.
Whenever I have these conversations I hear my father’s voice and his convincing arguments, and I smile and say to the student standing in front of me, “Don’t worry, you may not understand the significance of this conversation now, but one day, hopefully, you will.
