Student Success Stories
Frankie Jensen
At UVSC’s School of Business convocation exercises April 2007, Frankie Jensen, her daughter Vicki Peterson and her son Jacob Jensen each donned a cap and gown to receive a bachelor’s degree diploma. For Frankie, reaching a milestone in her life she never thought she’d reach is all the sweeter with the presence of her children.
In 1997, Frankie needed to learn how to use a computer for her job at a manufacturing company. It had been 25 years since she’d last taken a college course, but she decided to enroll in an associate of applied science program at UVSC to update her skills. Because she had a husband, four children, two grandsons and a full-time job, she only had time to take a course or two at a time, but before long, Frankie completed the program and began to mull over the idea of pursuing a bachelor’s degree.
“I was terrified to return to college,” said Frankie, whose high school guidance counselor warned her not to take math in college because she’d never pass. “I knew math courses were required to earn a bachelor’s degree, and I worried UVSC didn’t offer a math class basic enough for me. But I enrolled in a class, and on the first day, the professor said, ‘There isn’t one person in this class who can’t pass if they put in the hours and the work.’ I took that challenge, studied night and day, and earned an ‘A’. My confidence soared - I thought, ‘I can go on, I can get a bachelor’s degree' ”
A course in business law piqued her interest in the legal field, and Frankie declared her major paralegal studies. By that time, her daughter Vicki was at UVSC studying accounting, and her son Jacob was taking courses in criminal justice. Frankie and her children – particularly her son, whose courses in criminal justice often overlapped her courses in paralegal studies – inevitably ended up in some of the same classes.
"I worried that my son would say, ‘My mom’s in this class, I’m so embarrassed,’ ” Frankie said. “When I went into a class on the first day, I started to sit down on the other side of the room from him so I wouldn’t embarrass him. But he called out, ‘Mom, come over here and sit by me!'”
Now an assistant to the dean in UVSC’s School of General Academics, Frankie will intern with UVSC’s policy department this summer. While she considers pursuing law school or a graduate program, Frankie said she plans to reward herself post-graduation by enrolling in “fun” courses in literature, writing and computers. Vicki hopes to work in the tax field, and Jacob is pursuing a career in law enforcement.
Noting the difference education has made in her life, Frankie said that knowledge really is power. “I dared to try things I’ve never tried before, and I came away empowered,” she said.