From Your Fellow Non-Trad

Hello! I’m Tami. I am a non-trad. Meaning a non-traditional student.

Like, REALLY out of the traditional scope of the way things usually go.

The following words are my hand out to you. You, who may feel out of the ordinary. This is my story, for you.

We piled out of the van, stiff-legged, having driven from our Southern California home to the JBU college visit. It was the spring of 1984.  I fell in love with John Brown University and completed my freshman year in 1986-1987. Going home for that that summer of 1987, I was all geared up with a new major and a cool work study assignment. But, during the summer doubts and financial fears set in and, regretfully, I decided not to return. Then I got married. Then I had three children. Then thirty years and a whole lot of life and death went by.

In 2017, both my oldest daughter and my marriage died. In the darkest of all my days, God shined the light of a future and a hope down on my weeping head. He planted the thought that this was the time to return to my beloved JBU and finish what I started thirty years before. So, on Jan. 6, my parents (bless them) helped me move into my college apartment to start again, in the Spring 2019 semester. I am an English major in the Honors Study Program.

Is this scary? Yeah, a little.

Overwhelming? Some days, almost.

Worth it? Absolutely.

Now, more than before I know why I’m here. I had a reason for being here before, too, as does every student who pulls into that Admissions parking lot. If you are considering embarking on an out-of-the-box educational training season at John Brown University, I’m here to cheer you on. Be strong and courageous. Don’t ignore the whispers of direction you may hear. Take my hand, let me know when you arrive and I’ll buy you coffee or tea and be among the crowd of witnesses to remind you, there is a divine reason for your being here.