I Are a College Graduate

It's official. I graduated from UNC-Charlotte on December 20th, a feat that I embarked upon in September 1981. So, just 27 years and three universities later, I have a bachelors degree in Mathematics with a minor in Psychology. I changed my major so many times over the years that I should have ended up with about five degrees. But I'm not complaining. :) This opens the door to graduate school and a new career for me--something I've desperately needed for several years.

My other good news is that today I found out I've been accepted to the Masters in Forensic Science program at The George Washington University. GWU has one of the best (if not the best) FS programs in the country. It's also one of the most expensive. But it'll be worth it. The top four digital forensics examiners in the nation came out of this program. My concentration is High Technology Crime Investigation. My 18 years of IT work give me a great background for this program, but it's still not going to be easy. There is a lot that I need to learn about criminal law and collecting forensic evidence.

I am so excited to have been accepted. It's a competitive program that accepts 20 new students at a time. I wanted this so badly that I moved to Virginia after Wall Street chewed me up and spit me out. I went so far as enrolling at GWU as a non-degree student, signing up for two undergraduate prerequisites that start next week.

They just had to take me. If not, I would have kept on trying. I'm glad that bridge has now been crossed.

Overall, there are about 80 students in the program at any given time, so it's a nice compact community. Classes start in one week. Today was the first time since I can remember that I stood in line at a university book store. Man, book prices are exorbitant these days. A student can easily expect to spend $100 per class.

Thank god I wasn't the only student in line who is sprouting gray hairs. The rest looked like kids to me!