My 50-year-old partner, the graduate

 

(Before I begin – did you notice there was no newsletter on Monday? That’s because we were all-hands-on-deck at the Social Finance Forum. I met many of you at the registration table where I signed you in. Thank you to all who attended!)

Yesterday, at age 50, my husband graduated from college.

As he walked across the stage with a goofy cap on his head and a goofier smile on his face, I screamed, ‘THAT’S MY ANDY!’

I know he heard me because a) you bet your bottom that I had shamelessly planted myself in front of the crowd to get a photo, b) he waved, and c) his classmates sent him text messages making fun of him for having a partner who was so excited.

There are many reasons why people pursue post-secondary education in their later years. Cost, family planning, logistics. For Andy, it was confidence. Despite being a voracious reader, he always struggled with the structures of formal education.

After a couple of false starts when he was younger, he believed he couldn’t do it.

I remember my years at university. Suffering from untreated depression and ADHD, I struggled to make it through, despite being bright and capable.

But that was 30 years ago, and this is now. As my daughter prepares to enter the post-secondary environment, she has looked hard at the supports available at her school of choice and intends to fully utilize them.

These supports barely existed or weren’t even a consideration when I was younger, and the stigma of accessing them in the ’90s would have probably prevented me from doing so.

But because they exist now, I’m not worried about my teen starting her journey at the University of Manitoba, and my husband completed his degree from Red River College, something he previously thought impossible.

So, this is a thank you to all institutions that recognize that we are not all the same, that we all have different challenges and needs, and despite these things, we are all capable of reaching our goals.