Lebell

Well,

I finally did it.

After 22 years of starts and stops, with a career, a mortgage and a wife in between, I finally finished my Computer Science degree (magna cum laude, no less ).

If some of you guys are thinking that you want to go back but that it's just too hard, I am living testament that you CAN DO IT!

And WHEN YOU DO, you will feel GREAT!

__________________
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." – C. S. Lewis

The ONLY sponsors we have are YOU!

Please Donate!

maleficent

YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY

/me turns a cartwheel

YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY

Congratulations!

__________________

filtherton

Congrats!
I've still got atleast four years left myself.

Grasshopper Green

Congrats, lebell! That gives people like me inspiration!!

__________________
"They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings; steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you king"

Formerly Medusa

StanT

Congratulations, I thought my 14 year BS was a record.

SiN

very inspirational (I too have dreams/plans of getting a 'real' education one of these years) and very worthy of a huge congratulations!

__________________

Elphaba

Fantastic!

From another "gradual" student.

greytone

Congrats. I admire your perseverance.

__________________
I was there to see beautiful naked women. So was everybody else. It's a common failing.
Robert A Heinlein in "They Do It With Mirrors"

raeanna74

Congratulations. Great job!

My college career wasn't interrupted so much but took much longer than the usual amount of time. I appreciate it more because I know what it took to complete. The time is worth well more than the money spent.

__________________
"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

Vincentt

I feel much better about my 6 year 4 year degree!
(hopefully 6 years :P)

Congrats! do you have a job waiting for you?
(Also Computer Science)

__________________
.

Fremen

Good for you, Lebell. Congratulations, bud.

__________________
Google

Lead543

Congratulations! I'm finishing my 12 years of being babysat and fed useless information. My real schooling is just about to begin. If you can do 22 years, I'm sure now I can do 4.
Good job!

herostar

Congratulations!

It really makes me happy when people go back and finish an education. It's a big milestone.

__________________
Got time to chill?

veruca

congrats!!!
that is so awesome!!

__________________
How you turned my world, you precious thing
You starve and near exhaust me
Everything I've done, I've done for you
I move the stars for no one

Martian

Man, I've heard of career students, but 22 years?

Seriously, congrats. It sounds like you've had a lot of obstacles, which makes it that much more of an accomplishment.

streak_56

I have a few more years to go, good to see that you're out and finally free from the educational machine.

pinkie

WTG, man.

Cheers!

maximusveritas

Congrats Lebell. My mother did the same thing as you in about the same time, so I know from experience that it's not easy to do.
Good luck with pursuing your new career.

Supple Cow

My deepest most heartfelt congratulations to you! I will keep you in mind for inspiration when I am taking my last two classes as a super-senior next year.

__________________
"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
(Michael Jordan)

amonkie

My fellow debugging comrade... You have succeeded Congratulations for a difficult yey extremely well done job - now time to go and enjoy the fruits of your labors

__________________
Calling from deep in the heart, from where the eyes can't see and the ears can't hear, from where the mountain trails end and only love can go... ~~~ Three Rivers Hare Krishna

JustJess

That's fantastic!! I'm going back to school soon too - thanks for reminding me that it's not the end of the world if I don't finish at lightning speed.
:*
Congratulations!

__________________
My heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talkin'.

ShaniFaye

congrats sweetie!!!!! Im so proud of you

__________________
I want the diabetic plan that comes with rollover carbs. I dont like the unused one expiring at midnite!!

martinguerre

absolute congratulations. it's good to see perserverance pay off.

__________________
For God so loved creation, that God sent God's only Son that whosoever believed should not perish, but have everlasting life.

-John 3:16

rockzilla

Congratulations, my mom just finished college last year in about the same amount of time. She felt pretty good when it was all over too.

Charlatan

Lebell... congratulations.

I thought it took me a long time to graduate when it took me nearly 7 years. I have to agree there is nothing more rewarding than finishing. To keep at it for that long is a very big deal.

I hope sexymama bought you some champagne!

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke

JStrider

awesome man!

__________________
-=JStrider=-

~Clatto Verata Nicto

ARTelevision

Inspiring story, Lebell. I have a good percentage of older students in my classes. They add immeasurably to the richness of diversity and experience. Not only are they bettering themselves but they're adding to everyone's educational experience.

__________________
create evolution

roachboy

yes, excellent work, good sir.
congratulations.
enjoy yourself around this, lebell: finishing is a big deal.

__________________
a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear

it make you sick.

-kamau brathwaite

rockogre

You have no idea how much I admire your persistance. I like about 12 hours on a computer science degree I started when we still used card punch machines. I know what it must have been like.

Way to go, and I hope it pays off handsomely!

__________________
Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you,
Jesus Christ and the American G. I.
One died for your soul, the other for your freedom

Cynthetiq

Cool... at least I have someone I can look up to... I'm 15 years since I dropped out, I keep saying I'll go back...

maybe one day I will.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

la petite moi

Great job. I still have a good three to four years to finish college. So boo.

guthmund

Wow.

Congrats on a challenge hurdled. You should do some serious celebrating and deservedly so.

__________________
No signature. None. Seriously.

Keist

Awsome Stuff Dude!!
I've just droped out of my BE (Bacheolor of Engineering) in favor of something a little more... interesting. What exactly, I dont really know yet hahaha.

__________________
-Keist

onodrim

Woo! Way to go, I can imagine how great it must feel to have finally accomplished it.

__________________
"The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there’s little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides"
-Carl Sagan

F-18_Driver

Congratulations, man. You beat my friend who used to explain that he graduated on "the nineteen year plan."

Now if you can just get that identity crap straightened out, there won't be any stopping you!

meembo

Fabulous! What a great accomplishment. Way to see it through!

__________________
less I say, smarter I am

clavus

Good job.

Given your choice of major, over the course of twenty-two years you must have amassed a great quantity of obsolete information.

I can just see you walking back into class, a gleam in your eye, and spring in your step...all brushed up on your FORTRAN...

__________________
Ass, gas or grass. Nobody rides for free.

Elphaba

Very harsh, Clavus. Isn't JCL the way to go?

Lebell

Thank you everyone!

Since it was a program specifically targeted at adult learners, I was by no means the longest running "student" there, to my relief.

Clavus,

I do indeed have some "obsolete" knowledge (Fortran 77, anyone?), but the majority of my computer classes was taken in the last 5 years, so I am pretty up-to-date. My focus in my upper division classes was OO and database design, using c++ and PostreSQL as the development tools. Not exactly dinosaur technology. Of course, I also remember using card readers to program in highschool and having 8 inch floppies when I first went to work...

__________________
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." – C. S. Lewis

The ONLY sponsors we have are YOU!

Please Donate!

hrdwareguy

Congrats Lebell. Now, go get that pay raise.

__________________
Gun Control is hitting what you aim at

Aim for the TFP, Donate Today