Adrienne Bucko had the degree on her bucket list for two decades. The bucket wasn’t going anywhere.

She left college the first time when her son was born, a practical decision made by a single mother who needed to figure out childcare and career direction before adding coursework to the mix. She left the second time when she was deep into her junior year and honest enough to admit she didn’t know what she wanted her degree to do for her.

Neither departure changed her certainty that she’d finish. “I always knew I was gonna get a degree. It was on my bucket list. I just had no idea what I wanted to do yet.”

A need for direction

When Adrienne graduated from high school in 2000, her parents expected her to pursue a degree. “So I just went to my local community college because I had no clue what I wanted to do,” she recalls. She started on the education track, then switched to criminal justice. After learning she was pregnant with her first child, she recognized the mismatch. “I was like, Hmm, single mom, ATF agent, police officer — not such a good idea!” she says with a laugh.

After her first year of coursework and the birth of her son, Adrienne left school to focus on childcare and figure out her actual path.

A decade later, with her son in elementary school, she re-enrolled at California University of Pennsylvania (now PennWest California), planning to major in education. But watching significant changes happen in the American school system, she began to doubt the path. She loved her English classes, so she shifted to literature. Then she came to realize the traditional jobs available to English majors held no appeal either.

“I was getting to the middle of my junior year,” she remembers, “and I was like, I have no idea what I want to do. How do I continue? I don’t want to continue and get a degree I’m not going to use.”

Adrienne left school again. During this second break, her personal life flourished: she got married and had two more children. The degree stayed on the list.

A call leads to clarity

In 2020, with her two youngest preparing to start preschool, Adrienne knew she’d soon have the time and focus to return. She knew she wanted to go back to PennWest, and she’d finally figured out her direction: school counseling, helping students find careers aligned with their passions.

She also discovered that PennWest offers a sociology major with a focus on social deviance: aberrant behavior, drug and alcohol addiction, child and elder abuse, domestic violence. These were subjects that fascinated her and would prepare her well for a counseling career. And the university was now offering a fully online pathway geared toward adult learners. “It was completely online. That meant I could work around my own schedule and around my kids’ schedule,” she says.

Still, Adrienne hadn’t fully committed. Then came a message from ReUp Success Coach Manager Becky Veydt. “All of a sudden, I got an email from her, and she was like, ‘Hey, have you ever thought about going back to school?'” Adrienne recalls.

The right amount of support at the right time

Adrienne and Becky began connecting regularly, with Becky helping her clarify goals and build confidence for the re-enrollment leap. “It’s different when you have someone who’s checking in with you about your education, like ‘Hey, how’s it going? What can I help you with? What do you need? Where are you at?'” Adrienne describes. “It was nice to have that outside of the home. Through talking with her, I finally decided, You know, I’m going to do it!”

At times, Adrienne even had a sense that Becky could read her mind. “I felt like every time I had a question rolling around in my head, shortly after, she would check in with me, and I’m like, ‘You know what, I’ve actually been thinking about that!'” she laughs.

A symbol of achievement

On May 7, 2022, Adrienne celebrated her graduation. She was the first in her family to earn a bachelor’s degree.

To commemorate the accomplishment, Adrienne purchased a class ring, a symbol she wasn’t apologetic about. She told her younger sister she’d probably wear it “very rarely” — for job interviews or alumni events, maybe — but that wasn’t really the point.

“I know I have a diploma that’s going to be on my wall,” she explains, “but this ring is a symbol of all the hard work, all the thought, all the years — everything that I put into my schooling. And I got my degree at 39 years old. It was something I’d wanted since I was in my 20s, and because I had a child young, it made it more difficult, but I didn’t give up. And that’s what that ring symbolizes to me. This is just a small thing that’s mine that says, ‘OK, I did it!'”

Two days after commencement, Adrienne started her first week of graduate school at PennWest California, pursuing her master’s in school counseling.

She’s also working part-time as a paraeducator, assisting in a kindergarten classroom and working with special-needs students. “I’m utilizing the things I’m learning in school or that I learned in sociology, but it’s just in a different platform, which is great!” she says.

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Learner pro tip “My advice to anyone who is toying with the notion of going back to school or starting school is to just jump in full force and see where it takes you. You’ll be surprised at all the different places you’ll end up going.” — Adrienne Bucko

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As she reflects on how she got here, Adrienne is clear about what helped. “There were times where I was starting to have a little self-doubt or I was starting to stress out, and even though [Becky] didn’t necessarily tell me what I needed to do, just texting her what I was feeling or thinking helped me process it,” she shares. “And then there were times when I truly didn’t know things, and she would look into them and find out the answers for me — or find out how I could get those answers. It was a give and take.”

“Learning is a lifelong experience; you should always be striving to learn more,” she advises. “But it’s all about the journey and not necessarily where you end up.”