It's Never Too Late!

CollegePlus! grad, devoted wife, and mom of three, Kelly Negvesky let nothing stop her from finishing her bachelor's degree.

By Kelly Negvesky

Being left-brained, I am a very detail oriented girl. I entered high school with a plan, executed that plan and found myself preparing for graduation feeling lost.

The Only Option?

Guidance counselors, Young Life leaders, parents all had one option that seemed absolutely essential and that was college. Not seeing any other viable options I packed up my new comforter and sheet sets and headed to a small private school on the coast of Florida.

Fun, But No Plan

My first year in attendance there was great fun. I got involved with Young Life and I made wonderful friends; however, I came no closer to a plan for these four years or my future. My professors just wanted me to pick a major and guidance was not what they offered.

Turn of Events

I felt lost and was flailing. My parents had picked up the rather large tab for my small college and I left my freshman year with plans to return. That summer I became ill and needed surgery. This occurred the week I was supposed to begin sophomore classes. With the surgery and recovery it seemed wise to postpone my return for the next fall semester.

Finances Change

At that time finances had changed for my family and as I proceeded to my sophomore year I found I would need to pay most of my tuition and living expenses. This required me to move off campus and get a job creating an entirely different college experience than my initial one.

Responsibility & Reevaluation

With little free time, I no longer saw my friends or was able to invest time in extracurricular activities. I could barely pay my bills. As I sat with pen and paper, I knew the paycheck resulting from the discipline I was majoring in would never cover the mounting loans I was assuming, and would leave me working to repay them long after I had children. That was unacceptable to me. So after that year I left college wondering if I would ever return.

Fast Forward

Fast forward 13 years and you find me a very grown-up mom of 3, married to a wonderful man. The career I chose was that of wife, mother and homeschool teacher.

A Nagging Thought

I was very satisfied with the life I had but always nagging at the back of my mind was that unfinished business of a Bachelor's Degree. I hated that I had started something and not finished it.

Traditional Degree = $$$

Several times I had looked into the local community college or the Universities designed for working men and women. I was left staggering at the expense. I also could not justify giving up that much of my family's time and money just to finish something I had started.

Enter CollegePlus!

Then one day I ordered a book from Vision Forum on Accelerated Distance Learning. I read it in a day and I was on the phone with CollegePlus! the next day. I could finish my degree and still feed my family and it would not require me to sacrifice my time with them on the altar of education.

Finish What Was Started

I enrolled almost immediately and spent the next twelve months with the most wonderful coach as my partner. With her help I tackled disciplines that I had not touched in 13 years.

12 Months and Your Degree

At the end of the twelve months I still knew my children well and had educated them in the warmth of our home. My husband was not a stranger to me but my most ardent supporter and study aid (I would have never made it through Natural Science without his engineering brain) and I had completed 72 semester hours to receive my Bachelor of Arts in Humanities.

Life Goes On

I love to learn and I am grateful to CollegePlus! for offering me a solution to finishing my degree while I could still live my life to its fullest.

Shawn Cohen

Kelly Negvesky lives in Orlando, loves her husband of 13 years and educates their 3 children at home. She recently graduated from CollegePlus! and earned her BA in Humanities from Thomas Edison State College.