The Nontraditional Student

When I first set foot into the University, I felt odd and out of place. During my first classes in Summer I 2006 (History 1 and Comp 1), despite being one of the oldest in the class of 2006, I was one of the youngest, if not the youngest, in both classes.
Surely this must be a fluke, I thought to myself.
But as I entered the fall semester, I realized that this wasn't a fluke. And despite taking only basics, I was always one of the youngest in the class, by a year or several year's difference. When I spoke with my friends, who had gone on to The University of Texas and Texas A&M, to name some, I discovered that they were about the same age as hundreds of their classmates, and that non-traditional students were students above "college age", who had families, who had full time jobs.

It was then that I realized that the non-traditional student at UTB/TSC was not someone like that. In fact, the non-traditional student at UTB/TSC seems to be someone like my friends -- entering college fresh out of high school, no dependents, and maybe only a part-time job to bring in extra cash. Not that it's a bad thing, of course. I think education is a great thing, and it doesn't matter how old you are or how busy you are, you can always find time to educate yourself.
But my point is, due to the immense responsibilities that some of these nontraditional traditional students have, keep them from becoming fully engrossed in the college experience.

What do I mean by fully engrossed?
I mean the whole shebang. Membership in any campus club, regular attendance at student organization-sponsored events, a contribution to campus life. Attendance at these events is usually limited to 100, 150 students. And most of these are the "nontraditional" students that have to double up their efforts to make it seem that an event was worth the hour spent away from [insert duty here].

This is why I want to exhort all of you nontraditional freshmen that will be coming into this institution this fall or returning for it. STAY ACTIVE!

The other day I visited a friend of mine at the University of Texas-Pan American, our former "owner". Walking through campus, I saw a tide of green from the students. I want that same goal to be met in Brownsville one of these days.
Some might argue that we're a commuter school, and I'll argue that that doesn't matter at all. The University of Houston is a commuter school, too, but they show school spirit.

And to you, student with a family and other responsibilities that has to make ends meet,
I salute your diligence. Now I have to ask you to make a very small sacrifice and contribute an hour of your time for any random campus activity.

It'll be worth it.
I promise.