Every year the number of experienced workers going back to college is on the rise in the United States, with baby boomers dominating the trend more than any other generation.

Several factors have indicated that this new trend in community colleges has been triggered by unexpected unemployment, reaching for a new career goal, or not meeting the expected financial stability at retirement. The question now is why community colleges? Why a four-year institution?

"I found that a community college was a lot more affordable than a four-year school," stated Isabel Lopez, who enrolled at South Texas College several years after her employer of 22 years, Dickies Factory, shut down. "Realizing you are out of a job is tough to come to terms with, especially when you have been a loyal, hardworking employee for so long and you have six children to support. However the only way to cope with life's curveballs it to keep a positive attitude. Every downfall is an opportunity to pick yourself up and get back on your path. I changed the entire situation so that it would become an opportunity for me to further my education. I had put my education on hold for several years to have children and support my family. When the factory closed I just figured that life was giving me an opportunity to fulfill this dream."

Lopez married when she was 15 years-old and says that she still enjoys a supportive and strong marriage of 38 years. Once married, the Lopez family soon began to grow and as the responsibilities of parenting increased, the possibilities and options for her to return to school became more and more distant. In addition to coping with a large family, Lopez needed to overcome several other barriers to continuing her education, the biggest of which was language. She spoke some English, but her skills suffered over the years. She had to learn proper English and then go on to pass General Education Testing (GED) in lieu of completing a high school diploma.

"There is no doubt that there were many obstacles in my path to pursing a degree," said Lopez who is now a at Southern Career Institutes. "But when I found out that the Dickies Factory would be paying for its displaced employees to go to back to school, I knew that it was my opportunity. I was determined more than ever to take advantage of this program and so I completed the GED in Spanish, my native language. After having accomplished this goal, I knew that I couldn't and wouldn't stop there. My children and my husband were so supportive of my dreams. They urged me to enroll in a local technical college and I earned two degrees there becoming a certified phlebotomist and medical assistant. These achievements helped me develop the confidence I needed to enroll at STC and here I am today - only one semester away from earning my associate's degree to work as a Patient Care Assistant!"

Lopez is currently using her skills to help patients at the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program offices in Pharr, TX.

"This job is a wonderful opportunity for me to share my talents and help others understand what an education really means," she said. "Education has truly changed my life for the better. I am now working at a clinic - a professional setting that I had never pictured myself in before! I am grateful for all the experiences that life has brought my way and I am determined to offer all of the patients the best quality service they deserve. Education for me is not about a diploma, but about having something that no one else can take away from you. Knowing that you were able to overcome all the barriers and that this determination has led to the completion of an academic degree is the best personal satisfaction that someone can have."

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