Hiram event to highlight success of adult learning

Staff report

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The Weekend College program at Hiram College, along with the Office of Graduate Studies, will celebrate the 35th anniversary of Weekend College by hosting the first Adult Learning SuccessFEST next Saturday to inspire interested adults to make a commitment to return to college.

The Weekend College, established in 1977, is the oldest adult-learning program in Ohio and is geared toward the needs of working adults who may be too busy with jobs and family to attend traditional college classes.

SuccessFEST will provide attendees with a multitude of information, activities, counseling and testimonials from other adults who have succeeded in their lives after earning degrees at the Hiram Weekend College.

Throughout its tenure, the Weekend College has graduated more than 2,200 students, in a range of eight different undergraduate majors and the Masters of Art in Interdisciplinary Studies.

The event is taking place in concert with National Non-Traditional Student Recognition Week, sponsored by The Association of Non-Traditional Students in Higher Education, to recognize and celebrate nontraditional-student success across the United States and Canada.

“Many working adults think they are too busy with families and careers, or simply lack the confidence to pursue their dreams and success by earning a degree,” said Paul Bowers, Dean of Extended Learning at Hiram College.

“SuccessFEST is specifically designed to show interested adults how they can leverage support networks to break down barriers and get on the road to success.”

SuccessFEST begins at 9 a.m. next Saturday in the ballroom of the Kennedy Center on the Hiram campus, and will offer the following opportunities to interested adults:

Attend confidence-building mini-classes and experience Hiram’s intimate, personal learning approach.

Hear how other adult learners overcame barriers and achieved success.

Talk with current Weekend College students about how they juggle family, career and education.

Attend financial-aid and transcript-evaluation sessions, and tour Hiram’s campus.

Network with other nontraditional students, faculty, staff and successful alumni.

Attendees also will be treated to a special buffet luncheon and hear presentations by Jean Mackenzie, entrepreneur and founder of Mackenzie Creamery in Hiram and recipient of the 2011 Portage County Environmental Conservation Award; Sandra Lisko, a 2007 alumna of Hiram College and vice president, regional marketing manager of Huntington Bank; and Warren Blazy, a 1991 Hiram College alumnus, owner and CEO of Blaze-N-Dee Inc., food-safety consultants.

SuccessFEST is free. Register at www.hiram.edu/successfest, or call 330-569-5161.