Many students at SCTCC are non-traditional, meaning they are older than the traditional student who comes to college right after high school. They are here to learn just like traditionally aged students, but there are two key differences that many of them note:
- They have to get used to being in school again. It’s been a while since they’ve had the structure of a classroom and homework.
- They have experience that helps them more than they thought it would.
Loren Popp stopped by SCTCC’s booth at the state trap tournament and chatted about his return to the college as a non-traditional student.
In 2010, Loren’s place of work closed and moved out of state, but they offered their employees a chance for re-education by paying for college. After 24 years there as a CNC Machinist (a degree that also came from SCTCC), he was headed back to school – this time for Energy Technical Specialist.
Loren entered the Robotics & Industrial Controls program with instructor Aaron Barker and focused on solar power.
“Aaron is a great guy and very knowledgeable in what he’s doing. He keeps pushing the program to keep up with industry,” he said.
Although he’d been out of school for a while, he put his mind to it and did really well. Math tripped him up – he spent a lot of time in the CAS with other students from the program, so much so that they normally got kicked out because it was time to close. Taking advantage of the supports that SCTCC offers was something he didn’t think twice about, and he made sure to bring his fellow students with him.
“As an older student, you come in with more real-world experience that you can add to the class when you’re talking about different subjects,” Loren noted. “Younger, traditional students don’t have that, so you can kind of add to what’s going on in the program. You have that experience and it helps the younger students at the same time.”
After graduating in 2012, Loren actually got a job at Park Industries as a CNC Programmer – the field he was in before. Even if he had known that, he still wouldn’t have passed up on the education. He uses his Energy Technical Specialist degree for non-work projects. So far, Loren has installed three solar projects: one at his home, his son’s home, and at his off-grid cabin.
When Loren came back to SCTCC, he thought he might be alone in his non-traditional age bracket, but that wasn’t the case. He was surprised at the number of older students, which made him feel more comfortable. That, combined with the supports and friendly students and employees, erased the divide he expected coming back to school.
Loren summed it up: “I talked to a few people who said, ‘you can do this,’ and I never looked back. If you put your mind to it, it isn’t that hard.”