by Elizabeth Nielson
When Brother Terry Barnett of the Ashland Ward took a break from college after three semesters in his early 20s, he figured he’d be going right back to school a few months later. His dad had passed away from cancer, and Brother Barnett wanted to take some time off. He began making a steady paycheck at a well-paying job, and before he knew it, those few months had turned into more than twenty years.
Brother Barnett had climbed the ranks of the company he worked for and was supporting his family without needing a college diploma. But when he was suddenly laid off two years ago, he found himself unable to transition to another job that made even close to the amount of money he had been making.
“It just seemed like the lack of a college education was holding me back from a lot of great jobs,” he said. “Then I saw a friend at the Pathway graduation, and it clicked that this was a way to get the education that I needed. The idea of going back to school was not really something that was anywhere near the top of my list. We had just had a baby and money was tight. The Pathway graduation hit at the perfect time for me to say ‘well this is a commitment I can make. This is something that can be managed without sacrificing everything.’”
On August 19, the Pathway program graduated twelve individuals from the Akron and Youngstown stakes in a ceremony at the Akron Ward building. These brothers and sisters received their Pathway certificate, which guarantees them admission into a BYU-Idaho degree program. Brother Barnett was among those graduates.
“Most universities do have some sort of avenue to come back to school as a non-traditional student, but they don’t have the support system,” he explained. “You have to find those avenues yourself. The Pathway program is really set up to say ‘Bring me all your people who don’t fit into this box. Bring me all the people who have families, who have jobs, who are career transitioning, and we’re not going to charge you lots of money and have you wait years. We’re going to give you a one-year intensive program that you can afford and get you started and on your way.’”
Sister Kym Henry of the Massillon Ward was also a graduate this summer. “I had tried other ways of getting my degree, and it just didn’t work out,” Sister Henry said. “This program is so inspired. Pathway is what got me moving forward. It’s definitely created to help us learn that we can do it. It gave me a lot of confidence.” Sister Henry found that some of her classes were immediately applicable in other parts of her life. “The finance program of the general studies section was invaluable,” said Sister Henry. “It goes right along with the Church’s program of self-reliance and provident living.”
Brother Barnett also found the Pathway coursework to be directly useful. “There were a lot of skills that I immediately transferred to my current job. We did work in Excel and in budgeting. I learned little tricks that I could use right away. “ Brother Barnett is planning to use the online option to take classes at BYU-Idaho toward a bachelor’s in Business Administration. Sister Henry will instead take more time as she explores which degree program she wants to pursue. She’ll start back in January, taking a few classes. Pathway is a flexible program that allows the participants to work at their own pace. And according to Sister Henry, “It’s so worth it.”
Akron Ohio Stake News 