Never Too Late to Go to College

Al Día

When it comes to deciding the best time to start college, the jury is still out.

Many young adults who do not enter college right after high school regret this decision later in life, as family and financial responsibilities take over personal ambitions.

There is also the inevitable lower level of income resulting from all those years of work without a college degree.

Still, the decision to enter school is sometimes made later in life. Most recently, a 95 year old Kansas woman made her claim to fame as the eldest college graduate.

In Philadelphia, Gilbert Melendez used to be one of those “naïve, rebellious and inexperienced kids who thought could make it into the world without an education,” he recalls.

But the arrival of a wife and young son into his life awakened a desire to prove himself to the world, his son, and his father.

“When my son was born, I started to think I did not want him using the excuse of me not going to college, just like I did with my father,” Melendez said.

With his new family, it may have been easier for Melendez to stay at his job as Assistant Director with the YMCA in Northeast Philadelphia.

Instead, this ambitious young man decided to add the completion of a business program at Strayer to his daily routine.

Despite describing his life as “busy, busy, busy,” he recommended with confidence that young adults further their studies.

“I gained a lot of experience between high school and college, so I could easily relate to what the teachers were explaining,” Melendez said.

The accountant to-be also emphasizes the practical benefits of his education. “At last, I can understand how my mortgage is structured,” he added with a laugh.

® Virtua Language Agency, LLC

« Articles list