Karen Manning

As the mother of two busy, elementary-age children, Karen Manning wasn’t sure if she’d be able to fit college into her life. But she wanted to take her career up to the next level from preschool teacher to public elementary school teacher, so she decided to give it a try.

Karen chose Cambridge College at Lawrence because their Early Childhood Education master’s program offered such a flexible schedule. “I particularly liked that the Monday-Friday schedule of classes didn't start until 5pm. This gave me the chance to get my children off the bus, feed them, get homework started and spend time with them before the babysitter came.” 

“I loved the weekend class schedule as well because my husband could watch the kids and it was convenient to mix weekend and weeknight courses. I took both to balance my schedule. I also loved the offerings of week intensive courses and took one of those as well.”

“I thought it would be really difficult to go back to school and juggle work and family life, but it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be.”

It wasn’t just CC’s flexible schedules that made Karen’s return to education a positive experience. Age diversity also played a role. “I am an older student (age 50), and I found it to be a good college for me because there is a diverse group of students attending. This made me feel like I fit in. Any age is welcome at CC.”

Karen recently finished her master’s degree and is studying for her MTEL licensure exam. “I really enjoyed taking classes at CC-Lawrence and although I'm happy I've finished my courses, I will also miss taking more.”