The semester is drawing to a close, with graduation and Christmas right around the corner, I have this bittersweet feeling about it. I am eager to start a career but I am not ready to say good bye to Madison College.

I enjoyed being a part of the student clubs, while gaining knowledge and experience among familiar faces I have come to know as friends.

I moved to Madison in 2011, I transferred in from Western Technical College in La Crosse after taking a year off from having my son, Tristan. I started at Madison College that fall in the Marketing program, along with the Nursing Assistant program which I completed the following spring.

Being a student and a young single mother of three boys with sports schedules, and school themselves, I had to work extra hard to pay the bills balancing three jobs simultaneously at MyCity Promotions, Toppers Pizza, and as a CNA at Brighter Life Living.

I utilized the Madison College Child Care Center as a resource for day time child care and was able to join my son for lunch, and watch him play on the playground in between classes.

When I worked late nights I did homework on my breaks.  I was very grateful the school courses/schedule was designed to accommodate my busy life, it allowed me an opportunity to pursue a degree and a career that I didn’t think I had before.

During the past summer I earned my internship credit at Wisconsin Harley-Davidson in Oconomowoc  and even though I didn’t enroll in the course until fall semester my advisor assisted me with my resume and internship process.

This allowed me to gain some great experience and lessened my work load for the fall semester so I was even able to join some of the college’s great student clubs (PAC, PTK, DECA) and was able to pursue a passion, writing for the Clarion.

I am grateful for my experience at Madison College and am considering coming back in the spring for the Graphic Design program.