As Shippensburg University’s non-traditional student week wrapped up on Thursday, Mary Hillanbrand, a teacher at Uniformed Services University, led a lecture titled, “The Journey of a Lifetime” that discussed aspects of being a non-traditional student.

“Whether you are a traditional student or nontraditional student, you are here,” Hillanbrand said.

Often, society sees life like a giant board game and assumes that one moves to the college space after they complete high school. But now, more than ever, students are taking gap years and going to college later. According to Hillanbrand, 71 percent of college undergraduates are non-traditional students, and non-traditional students are the new traditional students.

Non-traditional students learn differently than their traditional student peers, according to Hillanbrand. These students like information that is immediately useful and can be applied to real life problems.

Hillanbrand stressed the importance of having a mentor, or “Yoda,” to help get through college. Today, mentors are helpful in achieving goals and facilitating learning experiences.

Hillanbrand said she had various mentors throughout her educational journey. She began her undergraduate education post-high school, but failed college twice and she soon began selling cosmetics in a department store.

Her wake-up call was when she was talking to an older coworker and realized she did not want to be selling cosmetics when she was a 50-year-old. Despite her failures in college, Hillanbrand enlisted in the Navy and prepared for a new start. “Even though I wasn’t successful in the past, that didn’t mean I wasn’t successful in the future,” Hillanbrand said.

Despite obstacles such as starting a family and dealing with a mother who was diagnosed with cancer, Hillanbrand completed her education up to her doctoral degree. Today, she teaches at Daniel K. Inouye Graduate School of Nursing in Bethesda, Maryland.

Non-traditional SU student Amanda Haase had the mentorship of her parents who both instilled the importance of education. Haase was told she had two options after high school — go to college or join the Army.

SU graduate student Lindsey Brown started her college education late due to her job.

“I was a chef, I got laid off and decided to go back to school,” Brown said.

For others, going back to school is a chance at a new life path. Current SU student Tammy Damore returned to the university to earn a graduate degree after getting married and having kids. Damore said that there is some difficulty in returning to school after a few years off.

“I was doing day care for a while and noticed there’s a big difference from Dr. Seuss books and papers,” Damore said.

Currently, more than 600 non-traditional students are attending SU, which was awarded for their non-traditional student program. Every third Wednesday of the month non-traditional students are offered a coffee break in the McFeely’s cafe. The SU Ceddia Union Building also has a lounge set aside for non-traditional students on the second floor.

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