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Printer-Friendly ModeDefying tradition
January 21, 2008 —
She could be sitting right next to you in your psychology class; he could be across the cafe from you at Starbucks. Scattered throughout classrooms and around campus are the few students that society defines as non-traditional.
There is no specific definition of a non-traditional student, just the idea that it is a student who goes against the norms of the majority population of a university. One of the most common norms is youth, as many students are between the ages of 18 and 24.
SVSU student Trish Capyak defies this trend.
Capyak is 43 years young, divorced, mother to one son, and an employee at Covenant Health Care. She is also going back to school for the first time since high school. Two years ago, Trish began school again at Delta by taking the general education classes required for her to gain acceptance into SVSU's nursing program.
"I was so scared on the first day; I just didn't know where to go or start!" she said.
She wanted to come back to school to create a better life for herself and her son and accomplish something of which she had always dreamed.
"I came back to school because I had to do something for myself after separating from my husband," she said. "For many years, I was made to feel worthless, but in the back of my mind I always had that wish of wanting to accomplish something and be strong. Going to college is my first huge step to realizing that I can actually do that and make it on my own."
Capyak said that her personal ambitions suffered at the hands of her ex-husband, and that after so long of being treated like that, it becomes almost impossible to escape. However, escape she did.
Capyak now lives in Midland with her 17-year-old son, Ben, and has been separated from her ex-husband for three years and divorced for one year this April. She is applying for the fall 2008 nursing progam to get her bachelor's degree.
Another definition of non-traditional can be found in Gigi Maribbay.
Maribbay is 21-years-old, Philippino, an optimist, and disabled by cerebral palsy.
"I'm just a normal college student, except I just don't know how I'm going to feel with my disability until I wake up," she said. "I have to do things a different way sometimes too. But who says what is 'conventional' or not? I must have missed that memo!"
Maribbay holds a similar ideal as Capyak: she wants to accomplish things for herself and help those around her.
"In high school, everything was chosen and done for me and college was offered to be that same way as well. I wanted to do this differently though because these are the years that you're searching for self and your purpose. I want to see if I can do this by myself," explained Maribbay of why she decided to break away from her hometown and attend SVSU.
Like many college students, Maribbay wants to change the world and help someone. She is majoring in social work and minoring in youth services. Maribbay is starting small on her plans to change the world by trying to change how people treat and accept each other on campus.
"Everybody should just accept each other, we are all just people in the end. If you take away a wheelchair or any other superficial thing, you just have a person," she said. "I want people to remember the good in the world."
Maribbay tries to "get people to remember the good" by meeting someone new each day and talking with them, trying to put a smile on their face.
Maribbay and Capyak both exemplify qualities of the so-called non-traditional students - they are willing to try something new, they are brave, they are caring, and they might just have an interesting story to tell.