As I am going through the secondary education process with my daughters, I wanted to go back to what I went through.

I was pretty decent in school.  Always knew what I wanted.  I decided to go to a small local college.  I had some friends look down upon me for my college choice.  I remember one friend in particular tell me how I did not understand some things due to not going to a large university, because “they are special places”.  That was fine.  Different strokes for different folks.  I did get tired of having my choice look down upon, but my focus was matching what I wanted in a school to best match my educational goals (I can thank my parents on focusing me on educational goals).

When I took my oldest two daughters (one in college and the in high school), I took them to every possible choice of a college.  Three of the oldest colleges in Illinois, 2 of the 7 working colleges in the U.S., large universities, small colleges, local colleges, colleges in other states, etc…..

My oldest found a small working college that matches up with the goal she wants.  She has already laid out the path she wants to go after she graduates thanks to the opportunities she is being shown even this being her freshman year.  My middle girl is now starting the same path of matching her goals with the school as my oldest has.  It is an exciting time to watch them plan their future.

To go back to my story, I decided to go to graduate school years later after graduating from that small college.  I chose a large Catholic university, Regis University, in Denver Colorado for grad school.  When interviewing for acceptance, the head of the department looked at my degree from Illinois College, and he was impressed due to the school’s reputation.  There was no question in his mind as seeing my alma mater that I would be a perfect in fit his graduate program.