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Your Education Stories

One of the best things about doing a survey is that you get to reveal the collective results to the entire class.

This particular survey had more significance than most because it shows how much people sacrificed, in terms of money, time and effort, to try to improve their lives.  Ours is not a "rich" class populated with "upper crust" people.  Many of us had to work while going through school and others had to take out loans.  A few worked hard enough in high school to earn scholarships, though I think there were few "free rides".  There was nothing about our educational endeavors that was easy, even for those who concluded their education with an AA from BC.  It all takes focus and effort.

I'd like to thank all the people that submitted their info to this survey.  Much of it was quite colorful and illuminating!  The fact that most of us did not follow a straight educational path is quite provocative.  It tells me that we have a resourceful class that is willing to change course when the original plan came up short or otherwise did not work out.  That says a lot about us. The ability to learn and adapt is the sign of a successful person, whether it is in regard to education or any other part of our complicated lives.

The first one is mine, obviously. The idea was to say enough to encourage others to open up about their experiences.

What follows are 35 little stories of the many different educational paths that we took.  Please take the time to read each of them and try to understand what the person was trying to achieve while embarking on their chosen educational journey.

I couldn't help but notice that several kids attended UCSB.  Yes, Santa Barbara is the closest UC campus, but I am quite sure that Mr Fontaine (a graduate of UCSB) was instrumental in many of these decisions, including mine and Dr Martin's.

Again, thanks so much for contributing your stories to this website and this class.  The website is meaningless without your sincere contributions.

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BA in music from UCSB (1973); California Secondary Teaching Credential, UCSB (1974); MS in Computer Science from Pacific Lutheran University (1986). Getting a music degree was mainly a case of staying out of the draft (2-S student deferment) and following the path of least resistance. I was just naturally good at music so I didn’t need to work that hard at it. Enjoyed the theoretical and compositional sides of music, however. Got into teaching because it seemed like the next logical step to being fully employed. Teaching music (instrumental and vocal) was personally fulfilling but also the most demanding job that I have ever had. I had to eventually get out of it because it was physically wearing me down. I could not settle for second best so I was always pushing my groups to the limit. The software story is quite interesting but I don’t have time to go into it now. Maybe another time. Thanks all for sharing your info.

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Attended UCSB, majoring in English Lit, with a focus on Jane Austen. UMass Amherst, B.A. & M.S. In Geology (Four Corners was my field area). Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science, M.L.I.S. (Focus on science librarianship) I can say that every degree and every job I had informed the later ones. For instance, as a grad student in the UMass Geosciences Dept., I was tapped to teach a writing class to GeoSci undergrads because, as the Dept. chair said, my sentences could be understood on the first reading. I can also say that I enjoyed each career more than the previous ones. And even retired I still consider myself a geologist and a librarian.

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AS degree from Bakersfield College, Physical Education, 1970. Studied at Fresno State: Physical Education, then Nursing. (‘70-72). Took a break to work and have children. Life got busy! Resumed studies at Bakersfield College,1993, Business/Accounting. Transferred to Cal State University Bakersfield,1996, Business/Accounting. Changed major to Public Administration; graduated with BA 2003!

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Fresno State, 1972, Major: Business Administration, Minors: English and Social Science, 1973, California Secondary Teaching Credential.

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CSUB graduated 73 BA. Almost went into teaching but ended up in a sales career selling Insurance for almost 40 years.

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Diploma-South High-1968 AA-Music&History-Bakersfield College-1970 BA-Music & BA-History-University of the Pacific,-1973 Graduate Certificate-Secondary Education-Sacramento State College-1974 AS-Pharmacy Science-2010

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Went to University of California straight out of high school then dropped out and got married.. Brief trip to Cal State LA. Oops, got pregnant. Dropped again. Later got AS (associate of science) degree as registered nurse from community college. Worked as a nurse for a while. Later went back to California State university Cal Poly to get BS in Business with CIS -computer information systems specialty. CDP certificate. (I doubt that exists anymore ) This time it took. Worked in IT for almost 30 years

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Several State of Cal schools depending on where I was working at the time. Also attended a school specializing in the Culinary Arts.

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Graduated South-AA from BC-1 semester Cal-State, Bako-Ok Christian, OK City-BS elementary ed,-U of AR, Little Rock-MS-ed-Became Reading Recovery teacher-2 years training-lots of workshops/seminars. I enjoyed learning and putting it to use. My parents valued education since neither graduated HS. They said that is one thing no one can ever take away from you.

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Graduated from SHS. Self educated to be a Radio Engineer obtaining an FCC License. Received equipment specific training during my career. While I worked fort the Government I was considered a GS (General Service)12/13 , This is a higher classification than GS11 which requires a PHD. No, I don’t consider myself in that rarefied air of PHD, but it felt good to be appreciated.

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UC Riverside - one year, Bakersfield Community College - AA Banking & Finance 1978, University of San Francisco - B.S. Human Relations & Organizational Behavior 1983, UCLA extension courses in Vocational & Adult Education, Linguistics, E.S.L., Fresno Pacific University - Spanish, Teaching Credential in Adult Education & Vocational Education, State of California "Technology in Education Mentor Academy", Certified Citizenship Interviewer Course.

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I received an AA from BC, then a BA in History from what was then known as Cal State, Bakersfield, then a MA from Central State University in Reading Education which lead to a State Certified Reading Specialist Certificate. I backed into the certificate. I was cooking at Colony Kitchen in Bakersfield when I received a call from my wife. She told me that I received a call from a school system out of state. I put four applications in when I visited my parents who recently moved to Oklahoma. I called them back and the Superintendent of Schools told me that they wanted to hire me to be their High School Reading Specialist. All I had to do was to accept and go to the State Board of Education and get my certification. I was told that since California had an agreement with Oklahoma I just needed to go and get it accepted. I put my notice in, sold one of my cars so I would have moving expenses and drove to Oklahoma. I went to the State Board of Education and waited for my name to be called. After about a 20 minute wait a lady called me in to look over my transcript. She looked it over and gave me a Provisional Certificate with three years to get a Standard. After I left I read over the requirements and one was three years of teaching experience which I did not have. I then taught for three years took the required courses and returned to the Board. I was worried that my teaching career was over. This time the Director called me in. He told me that I should have not been given a provisional but since I now had my three years in "all requirements have been met". He said "congratulations" shook my hand and issued my Standard Certificate. I discovered quickly that teaching in Oklahoma did not pay enough to support my family; therefore, I attended our local Vo-tech and received the training for my Real Estate License. About three years later I was teaching a night class at the Vo-tech and they offered classes for half price. I took the Real Estate Broker's class. All I had to do was to take the test at the State Board of Realtors but I did not for seven years. After seven years they changed the requirements. The day before the change I took the test and became a Broker. It is not a typical Vocational training class, but it worked.

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Graduated from SHS in 1968. Worked as a Computer Design Engineer the next 28 years. Attended Chapman College while teaching Computer Science at Cabrillo High School on a provisional credential. Received my full credential and tenure in 2002.

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I graduated with a BS in Business and Management from the University of Redlands in 1994. I previously earned an AS in Police Science from Mt San Antonio Community College in 1980.

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Went to BC 1968-70 majoring in math/science. Didn’t do my homework for the first semester and almost flunked out. Had to retake some classes but eventually became a good student, graduating in 1970 with an AA. Went to UC Berkeley 1970-1972 majoring in Astronomy which turned out to be more tedious than interesting. I lost the confidence that I had gained at BC so I struggled in my classes. Eventually decided I was wasting my time and money so I left in 1972 without graduating. Came back to Bakersfield and worked at seasonal jobs for a few years. Eventually attended CSUB majoring in math and finally received a BA in 1980. While I was at CSUB I had another pause in my educational career. During what should have been my last quarter at Cal State I met my future wife. She became my focus at that point. It was the most intense time of my life, so much so that a week after our first date we made the decision to get married. We spent the next 5 months planning the wedding, finding a place to live, etc. Because my focus had changed I ended up getting an Incomplete in my last required class. I did not have a good experience in that class. After we got married and settled down I eventually went back to Cal State, finished the class and received my degree. Computer programming classes I took along the way (including Mr. Johnson’s class at South High senior year) provided a skill base for my entire working career until I retired in 2017. I started out as a computer programmer on IBM systems, moved into an area called Systems Programming which dealt with operating system support (an operating system is the program that actually controls the entire computer system). I eventually moved into networks where I was responsible for a Wide-Area-Network (WAN) that tied several campuses of a community college district together. I also was responsible for the video conferencing systems that were used for campus-to-campus teaching. Also, at one point in my career I had responsibility for managing a telephone system. I got to see the transition from older circuit-switching technology to modern, network-based systems. My schooling turned out to be valuable even though I didn’t end up where I originally intended.

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1974 finished my BA in Middle East History and a minor in Judaic studies, UCSB. 1992 - MA in Social Science, Azusa Pacific University 1996 - PhD Walden University - Education The BA was motivated by experience in Israel where we returned to work with Project Kibbutz after graduation 1977-1985. In 1985 was required to leave Israel. Debbie and our three sons moved to Kenya where we started International Christian Ministries. As we were involved in theological education decided better get the MA. In 1992 we launched Africa Theological Seminary in Kitale, Kenya. That let to the need for the PhD as i was Principle and the Chancellor of the seminary. It helped me as ICM expanded to other countries and the Seminary opened branches in Kenya as well as Tanzania and Uganda. After stepping down as President of ICM I have continued my teaching, traveling throughout Africa and the Middle East teaching in Bible Schools, Seminaries and Christian Universities.

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I was the first from my family to go straight to college after high school. Correction, my brother who graduated from SHS in 1967, started at Bakersfield JC; but after soon receiving a low draft number, he quickly enlisted in the US Navy. He ended up in Vietnam but not in the infantry and although he returned to Bako (thanks, Jim) 4 years later, he was spiritually, psychologically, emotionally, and relationally messed up until my father's suicide in 1978. He finally hit bottom and found himself in a VA drug rehab facility where a young, black, Teen Challenge pastor taught the Bible; and as my brother says, "scared the hell out of me!" My brother then went to Azusa Pacific University and became a pastor....and is to this day. I went straight to UCLA, along with Dirk Van Pelt from our class. I LOVED college!!!! I loved the dances, living near the beach, UCLA basketball and football, the dorms, my involvement in Campus Crusade for Christ, my part-time job on campus, my classes after I finally got past the 500 person lecture classes in the first 2 years and into the smaller prerequisite nursing school courses and then finally into the UCLA School of Nursing. It took me 5 years instead of 4 because I wasn't pre-nursing at the beginning. Thankfully with some academic scholarships, my campus job, and my parent's help; I left college with a BA and RN degree and no debt.

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University of CA, Santa Barbara 1972 sociology major, math minor Received a PMP (Project Management Professional) certification. After I retired I let this lapse. Received CSM (Certified Scrum master) certification. I believe this is still active but I no longer work in the technical field. Received my CZT (Certified Zentangle Teacher) certification. This is still active and I am currently teaching Zentangle as a member of the Adjunct Staff at College of the Mainland Lifelong learning program.

 

The following “education summaries” were gleaned from information in your public profiles.  If it had anything to do with education, it is reprinted here.  All entries are anonymous, even though they came from your publicly available information.

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BA UC Santa Cruz '73 (Psychology)

Cal Poly SLO '91, UC Davis '95 (DVM)

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After graduating from college in Berkeley, I worked as a park ranger for several years. I went back to school and then worked in the software field at various companies. I've lived in Berkeley since leaving Bakersfield Jr. College. Since retirement I volunteer at the nearby University of California Botanic Garden, mostly giving tours to the public. I've been lucky to travel quite a bit, and have spent a fair amount of time overseas going bird watching and just being a tourist.

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Graduated UCSB 1972 with a BSME

Graduated USC 1979 with an MBA

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Attended Bakersfield Jr. College and Cal State Bakersfield and graduated in 1974. I worked for the US Forest Service from 1971- 77. Then I purchased a truck from Phil Walker and became an Independent Driver until 1986. I sold the business and began a 30 year career as an OTR Driver with Frito-Lay. I retired in March 2016.

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Bakersfield College 3 semesters tranfered to 1972 BA Cal State University Fresno (Football Scholarship), 1974 MA ( Counseling & Guidance) Cal State Bakersfield. 1994 Ed. D. University of LaVerne. 1976 - 1979 Kern County Fire Department; 1979-1998 (Professor - Dean of Instruction) Bakersfield College; 1998-2013 Vice President of Academic Affairs - Superintendent/ President , Antelope Community Collage

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Entered USMC July 1968 and finished enlistment July 1972. Graduated San Francisco State University 1978. Retired December 2014 from a career in Photography based in San Franciscco.

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... I then moved to San Francisco where I received my college education & subsequently became a photography department manager & photographer for the City & County of SF.

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UCLA; Peace Corps (ESL teacher in Tunisia); Copy Editor/PR Asst., Los Angeles; Hospital Pathology Transcriptionist: Emergency Teacher (LAUSD); Bilingual Elem. Tchr, (BCSD); Retired 2010; Artist; Poet, Living in Doylestown, PA (near daughter, gkds).

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... So I attended Bakersfield College in the fall of '67 through fall/winter semester of 69-70, spent a semester interning for the environmental education school SCICON near Springville, then transferred to UCSB in fall of "70. I graduated from UCSB with a B.A. in Environmental Biology and went to work for another environmental education program - Kern Environmental Education Program - in the San Luis Obispo/Moro Bay area. From there I spent some time working for the Forest Service in Sierra National Forest and Sequoia National Forest, eventually coming back to Bakersfield and took a job working for the Kern County Planning Department as an Environmental Planner.

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After graduation, I attended Bakersfield College for two years, and then transferred to Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo. I graduated with a BS in Physical Education and Social Science/History. I finished my teaching credential program in 1974 and accepted a teaching position at Fruitvale School in Bakersfield where I worked until 1981. 

In 1979 Blake Green got me a part-time job doing Petroleum Landman work, and I really enjoyed it, so in 1983, Mark Fields and I formed Maverick Petroleum, Inc. (MPI), where I work to this day. 

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3 years in Marines, lucky that it was 2 years in California and 1 in Hawaii, finally got to Vietnam 4 years ago. Returned to Bakersfield for 2 years at Bakersfiled College. Moved to San Francisco to attend SF State and then up to Sonoma where I graduated from Sonoma State with double major in Psychology and Expressive Arts. There I got into acting and travelled for 2 summer tours with the New Shakespeare Co. of SF. We preformed one weekend at Harvey Auditorium in 1978. 

Married in 1980 and became an executive recruiter in 1982. Lived the straight and narrow, PTA president, Little League and soccer coach for 10 years and had a drama club at my daughter's elementary school.

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1972-Graduated U.S. Air Force Academy. 1972-1973-Pilot training Lubbock, TX. 1974-F-4 training MacDill AFB, FL. 1974-1975 F-4 Kunsan AB, Korea. 1975-1978 F-105G Wild Weasel. 1978-1980 F-4G Wild Weasel Victorville, CA. 1981-1984 F-16 Flight Instructor MacDill AFB, FL. 1984-1987 F-16 Flight Commander Torrejon AB, Spain. 1987-1990 F-16 Wild Weasel Spangdahlem AB, Germany. 1990-1993 Staff Officer for 12th Air Force Inspector General. Retired from the Air Force 1993 (Lt Col). Installed voice and data cabling for Black Box Corp. Field service technician for Computer Sciences Corp. at Raytheon in St. Petersburg, FL.

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US Forest Service

UCSB

US Army

Dallas Seminary

Pastor--Michigan, Oregon, SoCal

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... and I retired from MaBell at age 46 then put myself through Cal Poly, studied abroad and received my degree in fine art. I'm now single, an artist, writer, and recently a children's book author.

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Attended BC (math/science) for a couple of years and lost interest. Worked different jobs and by chance stumbled into a job as a county park ranger. Enjoyed being the cop rather than watching out for them.  After about 4 years, I transferred to the Kern County Sheriff's Office and stayed for the next 30 years. Finally finished school with a B.S. from USF. 

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Have a Bachelors Degree in Theatre; Masters Degree in Theatre, Anthropology and Folklore; Been to China four times; Acted, sang and danced in thirteen plays; Directed fifteen plays; Have four grandchildren; Currently help high-functioning autistic young adults learn life skills.