Never too late for college; 3 generations at BBCC

ODESSA - It's one of those facts that the road to higher education isn't always a straight line from high school to degree. Sometimes life throws in detours.

But it's also one of those facts that it's never too late to head to college. And it's never too early. Three generations of an Odessa family are in school at Big Bend Community College, looking for new careers and looking to start a career.

Dan Nelson, Sr., his wife Tricia, their daughter Morgan and Dan's mom Dolores make the 45-mile drive for classes because Tricia wants to advance her career and Dan plans to do something new, and Morgan's plan is to own her own business someday but she knows she needs training for that. Dolores Nelson wants to be a librarian, eventually, and keep learning in the meantime.

Tricia Nelson is enrolled in the college registered nurse program, a decision that arose from a family tragedy. She had a daughter, but the baby didn't make it, spending her two months of life in the hospital. Tricia said she felt like she never really got an adequate explanation of what happened.

"I was hurt and I was mad," she said, and she did research on her own, seeking to understand. She took certified nurse assistant training to learn more, she said, but in the process she learned something completely different, She could do the job and was good at it, she said, and that knowledge prompted her to go further.

Her plan, Tricia said, was to defer college until all the kids were in school. But Dan Nelson's construction business ran into trouble, "and those plans got a violent shove forward," she said. Once she's done with the RN program, she wants to works toward a master's degree with the eventual goal of becoming a nurse-practitioner.

Dan Nelson had toyed with the idea of going back to school, he said, even tried to take a couple of classes at WVC-Omak. But work always came first, he said. When he closed his construction business he went to work for others, he said, to make sure there was food on the table. "Tricia came to school instead of me," he said.

But when last winter came and construction work dried up for the season, Nelson said he took a look at the current state of things. "I decided I can't do this (seasonal employment) any more. Unemployment doesn't pay the bills."

He enrolled in school for spring quarter, with the intention of pursuing a degree in the college's welding program. "I'll be honest. I wasn't going to stay," he said. Adjunct professor Rachel Valdez talked him into continuing, and he said he was glad he listened to her. His goal is to start a portable welding business.

Morgan Nelson is a recent graduate of Odessa High School, and her parents have always emphasized the value of education, she said. Her mom and grandmother were already going to BBCC, she said, and they urged her to hitch a ride.

Morgan is working on a business degree, the first step toward owning her own business someday, she said.

Dolores Nelson graduated from high school and as far as she was concerned was done with education, she said. That lasted through marriage, raising children, and helping raise grandchildren, she said.

She got money for college as an AmeriCorps participant, she said, and took a couple of classes, but wasn't all that serious about college. Then she discovered she liked school, she said.

Her college stipend had gone for other purposes, so she had to pay full price for classes until she learned she could get help through the Veterans Administration. Since then Dolores earned an associate of arts degree at Wenatchee Valley College-Omak; she started on a second associate degree at WVC-Omak and is working to finish that at BBCC, she said.

Dan Nelson said going to BBCC was a good choice. "Absolutely," he said.

Professors and administrators pay more attention to students, he said, can provide a lot more support. And it's a lot cheaper than a four-year college, he said. "They make you feel you are somebody while you're here," Tricia Nelson said.

Both Dan and Tricia urged people who are thinking about going back to school to take the plunge.

People have a choice when life hands them troubles, Dan Nelson said; they can worry about their bad fortune or they can do something about it.

Dolores Nelson said she has heard people thinking about their options and she has some advice. "Hey, just go to school," she said.