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DEL.ICIO.USNearly 30 years later, mother of 5 gets that degree
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Many a night she felt too tired to go on.
Adie Shimandle of Snellville toughed it out, though.
To do otherwise, to give in to fatigue, would mean deferring a decades-old dream, long past due.
So she didn’t, and on May 12, this married mother with kids graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia Gwinnett campus.
I first met her in 2003, shortly after she had returned to school. For her, it had been a while. Nearly 30 years ago. She got her associate’s degree from Manatee College in Bradenton, Fla. Then, college stopped.
Hers is a familiar tale. You know the script. Women wed, have kids, focus on raising them, sometimes while working, postpone personal goals. Solders the family soul.
It’s what Shimandle did.
She and Rick married 29 years ago. They had five kids. Her job as project manager for a broadcasting firm brought the family to Atlanta in 1980.
Eventually, the company decided to relocate its executive offices to Miami. The family chose to stay put, and for Shimandle, it was on to the next job. She worked for Nortel Networks, a telecommunications firm, for more than 20 years. It downsized in 2002, and she lost her job.
It’s around that time she decided to get her bachelor’s degree.
She told me that she didn’t know if she would have been able to go back to school if UGA had not been offering classes in Gwinnett. I guess she has a point. Having a satellite campus of the state’s flagship school has its benefits.
But Shimandle had some advantages, too: family, dedication, desire.
And as of this month, she has succeeded, all the while juggling motherhood with her job as a national manager who handles high-end donors for Atlanta-based CARE USA, an organization fighting global poverty.
This spring, she graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s of science degree in education, instructional psychology, training and technology. Shimandle is qualified in designing Web sites, graphic art and other impressive stuff.
On May 12, she attended the UGA commencement exercises in Sanford Stadium. Two days earlier, she was one of two student speakers at a local reception for UGA graduates who earned their 2007 degrees in Gwinnett.
It couldn’t have been easy. But when Shimandle enrolled in school back in June 2003, she didn’t do it alone. She had five kids and a husband who cried when he heard her speech at the reception.
When she was in school and would start to whine, worry and stress, her kids would remind her of the three “gets.”
Get it out. Go ahead and whine. Get over it. You still have to complete the work. Get on with it. The sooner you finish, the sooner you can stop whining.
“Sometimes I would be sitting there at 1 o’clock in the morning at my computer,” she told me. “My head would hit my chest. …You just want to go to sleep.”
At the time, she wasn’t the only Shimandle under pressure. Three daughters were, too. Charleaze finished grad school with honors at Piedmont College. Alexandria earned a chemistry award at Georgia Perimeter College.
And then there’s Teanna Wilson, married, the second-oldest daughter. She’s a “first honor grad,” a biology major who graduated in 2007, too.
Mom and daughter. Same school, different campuses. Same year. Sweet.
Shimandle spoke about her journey in her speech.
“It’s never too late to fulfill the dream of obtaining a bachelor’s degree or entering grad school,” she said. “You’re never too old to learn, and never too young to appreciate learning from those who have gone before you.”
• Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail rbadie@ajc.com.
Permalink | Comments (11) | Post your comment | Categories: Rick Badie
Comments
By D Mikle
May 27, 2007 6:42 AM | Link to this
Congratulations to Adie Shimandle! She has demonstrated that it is never too late to go back to school. I, like Ms. Shimandle, went back to school at the age of 35 to persue a degree in early childhood education and graduated from the University of Georgia in 2000. I know her family is very proud of her and I am too!
By T Lewis
May 27, 2007 10:00 AM | Link to this
Congratulations! What an inspiring story!I am also 35 and I am going back to school to become a teacher. I admire her for not giving up and sticking through it all. I also liked her family’s motto of the 3 g’s. I am proud of you too!
By Poelover
May 27, 2007 10:41 AM | Link to this
This story reminds me of myself. I went back to college a few months before Mrs. Shimandle and graduated this month. It was hard work but like her, my husband and children kept me focused on the big picture.
Congratulations on a job well done!
By Jane Biggerstaff
May 27, 2007 2:44 PM | Link to this
Adie’s drive is truly an inspiration! Please print her speech.
By Carol
May 28, 2007 12:57 PM | Link to this
Congratulations! Having taken 30 years to get my Associates, I know exactly how Mrs. Shimandle feels. It’s an awesome feeling of accomplishment.
By Pam
May 29, 2007 9:17 AM | Link to this
Great story Rick. This story reminds me of my mom who stopped school also about 30 years ago to raise three college graduates (two with masters degrees) and decided to go back two years ago. She has completed her associate’s degree and it one year away from completing her bachelors. Thanks for reminding me of the sacrifices that she made for us!
By sr
May 30, 2007 12:28 PM | Link to this
I am a 38 year old single mother of 2. I work full time and attend to my childrens busy schedules. I will receive my Associates in 3 weeks. It should take another 2 years to get my Bachelors. I can’t wait.
By KATRINA BOSS
May 30, 2007 7:54 PM | Link to this
I am very happy for the mother because my mother went back to high school after she choose to raise us and that was 16 years later. I am happy to say the now she is in college with great g.p.a 3.4. I am so happy for the mother she has great skills. I gave a speech at my mother graduation and the title was Mother it is never too late.
By A Shimandle
May 31, 2007 12:08 PM | Link to this
A note of thanks to all those who have read the article and provided their warm regards and best wishes. It’s amazing how many adults are returning to the classrooms to finish off the degrees they started so many years ago. “You’re never too old to learn, nor too young to appreciate learning from those who have gone before you.” Rick, thank you for writing about all of us who are finally fulfilling the promises we made to ourselves long ago before “life got in the way,” and are now living our dreams.
Adie
By ELB
June 6, 2007 1:37 PM | Link to this
Great job. I graduated from Piedmont College with my BSN and I am 40. I also waited until my son graduated from high school before I decided to go back. I admire the dedication and determination you had to raise your children and to return to school. I will be starting back to school in January to work on my Master in Health Care Administration. Good Luck to everyone that decides to go back to school after raising children it can be done.
By FABULOUS
June 6, 2007 6:17 PM | Link to this
CONGRATS TO YOU AND YOUR DETERMINATION. I AM A SINGLE MOTHER OF FOUR AT THE AGE OF 31 AND I AM ACTIVELY ENROLLED IN MEDICAL SCHOOL, AFTER PUTTING 3 YOUNGER SISTERS THROUGH COLLEGE. I TRULY KNOW THAT ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH PRAY AND HARD WORK.