The Collegian (Hurst, Tex.), Vol. 12, No. 23, Ed. 1 Wednesday, March 29, 2000 Page: 7 of 10
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Tarrant County College Collegian and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Tarrant County College NE, Heritage Room.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
run
she
tinue to
smoothly,”
said.
With real es- V
tate classes and
an associate de- Ji A JI
gree on the agen- g Jg | Jr v I
da, Ellison may ----------------—------------
not need to go to a four-year college right now.
However, she would like to get a four-year degree.
Ellison takes three classes at a time and works full
time during the day. She has three nights a week and
weekends to spend with her daughter.
“It is a blessing to have a job where the bosses are
willing to work around my school schedule,” she said.
Morgan, who plays soccer, also loves to play and
skate at the park. During summer, Morgan and her
mother can be found either at the local water park or
splashing around in their apartment-owned pool.
As for advice to other single mothers returning to
school, Ellison said, “I would say to definitely do it.
They would probably want to go in the mornings be-
cause at night, they are already tired and it is harder to
go to class. Class always seems to drag by so slowly.”
“Shellica wants to make something of herself,” her
mother said. “She learned the hard way, but it has paid
off for her.”
Seiley Morrison/TTze Collegian
NW student Shellica Ellison balances time with her
daughter Morgan and school and work schedules.
o
<■ • /
Lowell Brown/The Collegian
Mae Mathis, South Campus student, recently
learned she met requirements for graduation.
her age and wisdom,” Johnson said. “She’s a beautiful
woman, and she’s here because she’s interested in help-
ing young people.”
Triesha Light, associate professor of psychology
and WIN-R coordinator, also enjoys teaching Mathis.
“She’s a ray of sunshine,” Light said. “She’s a role
model for anyone who thinks they’re too old to do
something.”
Light praised Mathis’ work ethic.
“I’ve never once heard her complain ... [and] that’s
amazing to me,” she said. “She’s very patient and fo-
cused. She knows what she wants to do and that’s just
as good as it gets.”
Like Mathis, many students often lose track of
credits, Johnson said, because they do not maintain a
degree plan.
Upon visiting counselors, she said, students often
enter the “discovery zone” where they locate forgotten
credits.
“We’d really like to see more students come in and
just see where they are pertaining to their degree plan,”
Johnson said.
I
-i ' ;•
F If
Meeting graduation eligibility
surprise for South student
by Lowell Brown
south news editor.
Graduation will occur sooner than expected for one
TCC student.
Mae Mathis, a 68-year-old South Campus student,
was surprised to learn recently that she had earned
enough credits to graduate this spring.
Sandra Johnson, counselor and Mathis’ psychology
instructor, discovered the “lost” credits.
“In our psychology course there are numerous re-
quirements that we ask students to do,” Johnson said.
“One of those requirements is that students must have
teacher-student conferences.”
“During the conference, I saw that [Mathis] had
some credits from another university that were not ap-
plied to her degree and that she was eligible to graduate
this semester,” Johnson said.
The news surprised Mathis.
“Words wouldn’t do justice to how I felt,” Mathis
said. “I felt delighted. I really had to calm myself
down.”
Johnson described Mathis’ reaction.
“She was so happy; it was a great surprise for her
when she found out. It was as if the whole world had
unfolded for her,” she said.
However, Mathis still faced a problem: the dead-
line to petition for spring graduation had passed, mean-
ing she might not be allowed to participate in the gradu-
ation ceremony.
Determined to see Mathis walk across the stage,
Johnson and Annie Dobbins, counselor, intervened.
“These were unusual circumstances,” Dobbins
said. “So I said, ‘Look, we need to do something.’”
The counselors, along with Dr. Anita Barrett, asso-
ciate dean, approached Dr. Cathie Jackson about
Mathis’ problem.
Jackson, district director of admissions, decided to
allow Mathis to participate in the ceremony.
Dobbins said the counselors’ teamwork helped lead
to Jackson’s decision.
“[Counselors] sometimes have to go outside what .
is comfortable for us in order to make a difference to
our students,” Dobbins said. “That’s what it’s all about.
I’m just happy I could play a small role.”
Mathis, who is also enrolled in the Women in New
Roles (WIN-R) program, will earn an associate in arts
degree in general education in May.
After graduating, Mathis will work as an educator.
“I plan to substitute teach, and I prefer working
with lower grade [level] students to help give them a
good foundation,” she said.
According to Johnson, Mathis is an asset to her
class.
“She’s the perfect chemistry to my class because of
np . .. v-—
I
I
Indie • Import • Domestic • Local
■0
New Releases On Sale:
REVEREND HORTON
HEAT
Spend a Night in the
Box
$13.99
Star Tickets Outlet
Phone •
817 461 7340;
Fax !
ft We fax
I: x 817 8019502
• Call for brochure
• www.pineapplestudiostexas.com
,hll4W
: 1000 CDs
• jewel cases included
Z 48 Tracks mixing, mastering
; Cover layout & design, CD duplication
• & insert printing (small and large runs)
M
S
V
h
Not a warehouse,
your full service indie shop
8749 Bedford-Euless Rd
Hurst-820 at 183
817-284-3638
arran
Ai
Ml
i
I
fl
I
ounty College I
Presents
, ■ ■ ?
April 7th and Sth at 8 p.m.
Northwest Campus Theatre
For reservations call: (817) 515-7088
•9 «
ance Company ■
r r
______-___ x mm a , ■ M ; a H
! ■ : .
"KALEIDOSCOPE OF DANCE"
Friday & Saturday A
■Sir
lorthwes
j
■ ■' ' ■■ ' '■
series on single mothers returning to
I
I Single mom
finds campus
I meeting need
for her goals
[| by Sarah Cockrell
nw news editor
(Part 2 in a
school)
When she first went to school, Shellica Ellison
could not take care of her baby daughter, pass her class-
es and continue to work full time.
Ellison dropped out but later returned to NW
Campus when her daughter, Morgan Ashmore, was 3,
and she has been successful at school for two years.
Growing up in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, Ellison,
now 24, said TCC has met her needs of being a single
m parent in every way, including its proximity, inexpen-
11 siveness and scheduling.
— With her mother paying for day care and her clean-
ing her father’s place of business weekly, Ellison feels
that the only other help she needs is her day-time job as
a financial consultant for American Express.
“If I didn’t have the help of my family, I wouldn’t
ji l have gotten it done,” she' said. “My pregnancy was not
& planned, but with the love and support of my family
and my love for children, everything worked out.”
Ellison’s mother, Linda, said that when Ellison was
younger she did well in school but as she got older, she
had a hard time even attending school.
“When Shellica had Morgan, she tried everything
■ from summer school to classes through the mail,” she
■ said. “She tried everything to do better because she re-
alized her mistakes.”
“She is now going back to school for herself and to
be a good example of what not to do for Morgan,” she
said.
After dating Morgan’s father throughout high
M school, Ellison became pregnant. They never married,
P'and now Morgan sees her father an average of one day
a week for one hour at a time.
Before deciding that real estate was what she want-
ed to do, Ellison studied nursing for two years. When
she realized that she did not like the nursing classes,
she looked for something that was less time-consuming
fl so that she could get a degree in less time.
p Once enrolled in real estate classes, she discovered
just how flexible they really were.
“I should be done with my real estate classes by
this December. I want to continue to get a degree in
business, but that all depends on how long things con-
I
Call 515-6619 for
The Collegian
advertising
Principal Office
6200 Airport Fwy.
Ft. Worth, TX 76117
831-4321
2716W. Berry St.
Ft. Worth, TX 76109
921-4433
Traffic Tickets?
Contact
Jim Lollar
Attorney at Law
1904 S. Cooper
Arlington, TX 76013
860-4467
General Practice • Licensed by Texas Supreme Court
Attorney available by appointment M-F at all pffice locations
Not Certified by Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Criminal Law.
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON
announces a new Maymester Term
TCC students can complete 1 three-hour course
May 15-June 2. Credits can be transferred back
to TCC. The admission process has been
fl streamlined for visiting students.
May 15-20 and 22-26 • Final exam—June 2
Call (817) 272-MAVS, additional information & course
schedule, (e-mail: admissions@uta.edu)
■Student lies on robbery
TUCSON, Ariz. (Tribune Media Service) — A University of Arizona
freshman found out the hard way that lying isn't the best way to get an ex-
tension on homework.
Peter Bernstein told police he was robbed, but a detective becarpe sus-
picious. The next day, a maintenance worker found the wallet in a trash
■ can not far from Bernstein's dormitory. The wallet was found with all of
■ the contents, including $8, still intact.
Bernstein confessed he made up the story, police said. He was arrest-
ed on a misdemeanor charge for making a false report and then released.
Features
March 29, 2000 • page 7
The Collegian
k \i
ill
ir *
.... .JI
1
■*' ■
Im is si v is s. % !|
I t
lb
-• walk
<
.....
,,
imI
z \i
h it 1MB
3-wrg^a
y I® ‘i‘3A; t ®T’/y’T?* ,
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
The Collegian (Hurst, Tex.), Vol. 12, No. 23, Ed. 1 Wednesday, March 29, 2000, newspaper, March 29, 2000; Hurst, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1315486/m1/7/?rotate=270: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Tarrant County College NE, Heritage Room.