Upon moving from New York to Pennsylvania due to the high cost of living, Irene Price and her husband struggled to find living wage jobs without a college degree.
Those financial challenges increased after the birth of their first child.
Wanting more stability and flexibility in her work schedule, Irene Price decided to pursue an associate degree at Northampton Community College.
Originally hesitant about being older than her “traditional-aged” peers, she soon realized her life experiences served as an asset.
“If life experiences had a college degree, I entered college with a master’s degree in life,” said Price, who is currently an undergraduate student at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF). “A lot of my essays and contributions in class are so rich because of being able to draw from just life experience and everything.”
However, finding affordable and available child care options created additional stress to her college experience.
“Child care was like a noose around our neck,” said Price. “It was something that kind of pushed us over a financial cliff because we didn’t live around family members at all. We were kind of on our own. For me, it was the biggest hurdle.”
