Unfinished business

COEUR d'ALENE - When Wendy Hahn's son graduated from high school last spring, she decided to do something that had been nagging her for the last 22 years.

She decided to finish her bachelor's degree. The 47-year-old enrolled at Lewis-Clark State College in Coeur d'Alene. Hahn credits Lewis-Clark State College business adviser Eric Pemberton for making the process smooth and seamless.

"I was really nervous," Hahn said. "Registering, taking online classes, the whole thing was intimidating. Eric was great. He walked me through the process and he was very helpful."

Hahn has lived and worked in North Idaho, raising a family with her husband in Post Falls. She works at Kootenai Health as a human resources representative.

Hahn hopes to earn her business degree in two years.

"I was encouraged to go back," Hahn said. "The support at Kootenai is awesome."

Hahn graduated with an associate's degree in 1984. She dabbled with Spanish classes about 10 years ago. Hahn says she appreciates the college experience more as a nontraditional student than she did right out of high school.

"My life, my job experience has helped me immensely," she said. "Back then, I didn't know what I wanted to do. I just went because it was expected."

Pemberton said the nontraditional student brings a different perspective to higher education.

"Those students add a lot to our classrooms," Pemberton said. "The younger students benefit from having people with real world experience. It's connecting learning to life in the truest sense."

Hahn also said she enjoys online classes.

"It's a different way of learning," Hahn said. "You're able to put things into perspective based on what you've already experienced. It's cool and I love what I am learning."

Hahn said she wants to finish her degree to enhance her personal skills and her resume.

"In today's world, the four-year degree is important to have," she said. "You can't move up without it."

The U.S. Census reported in September that full-time workers with a bachelor's degree earn an average of $57,000 a year compared to a those full-time workers with associate's degree who make an average of $44,000 a year.

Kootenai Health is one of the few employers in the region that reimburses its employees for taking college classes.

Dan Klocko, Kootenai Health vice president of human resources, said 108 employees are currently enrolled in college classes.

"We provide an excellent tuition reimbursement program at Kootenai Health to enable our employees to continue their education," Klocko said. "We believe it is important for our employees to have the opportunity to grow in their careers and develop as people."

Hahn said her son, Johnny, and the rest of her family are very supportive of her efforts. Still, she isn't afraid to break out the earplugs to get her homework done.

"They think it's great," she said.