Diahann White on graduation day

Q&A by Kathleen Schechner

For Sgt. First Class Diahann White, nothing was as sweet as addressing her fellow graduates as she accepted her degree on Saturday, November 12, 2005, in Saratoga Springs. As a soldier, she has not only conquered the hurdles that everyday life can throw in the path of an adult learner, but she has also overcome obstacles unique to being a soldier. Here is the story of this mother of two, military career woman, spouse and successful adult learner.

Q. What made you decide to pursue your degree?

Like the rest of the world, I am a procrastinator. I always wanted to get my bachelor’s degree, but it didn’t always fit into my plan. I joined the U.S. Army 16 years ago, but in 2002 my retirement was quickly approaching. Realizing that my career in the military would be over soon, I recognized that I have other goals. I thought about what I was going to do to enhance my children’s life after I am done being a soldier. While I am in the service they don’t have a choice of what I do or where we live. Once I am out that is going to be their time and I want to have a job that will enable me to be there for my kids.

Then the Army came out with their online program, eArmyU (www.earmyu.com). With that incentive, I thought now is the right time and the right program. It fit and it fit well. Having the support of the Army made it easier to do.

When I first started, I didn’t know if it was going to work. I began my studies while stationed in Germany in 2002. Along with having a two-year-old daughter at home, during my first year of college I gave birth to my second daughter, moved to Maryland and dealt with having a husband who was deployed constantly. With my husband deployed, there was always the possibility that I would become a single parent.

During my studies, I was a Detachment Sergeant responsible for over 200 soldiers. It’s very similar to being a parent. If anything happens to them, even in the middle of the night, I was on call.

Along with that, being in college also doesn’t mean that my military education was put on hold. I was in military school for six weeks while attending online courses at Empire State College. Because my training was away from the base, I was separated from home and family. That was a true challenge, trying to be in class while keeping up with my Empire State College studies. It’s times like those that you definitely find out what your brain can handle.

Through it all, I was determined to continue my education no matter what happened and, despite giving birth during my first semester, I was able to maintain a 3.0 G.P.A.

I feel good. Now that I’ve done it, I wonder why I waited so long. It’s easy to do, and now I know that I can do it. This experience has given me a yearning to do more. For my kids, I don’t know that they’ll see the success now, but I do hope that they finish their degree all at one time.

More importantly, I currently have 44 soldiers under me. When they start talking about how hard it is to go back to school, now I can tell them that at 37, with two kids at home and my husband deployed every year for nine years, I earned my college degree. If I can do it, they can do it. I feel like I have proven to them that they can go back to school even with other responsibilities. You just have to take a risk for yourself. I tell them all the time, “Don’t put your dreams on hold. Nobody promised you 'easy,' but you can get it done.”

It’s amazing to see how strongly people feel about it. At first, I looked at finishing college at my age as an awkward thing, but since telling people about graduating I have received so many compliments. My soldiers look at my finishing college now as a great achievement.

As adult students, I think we tend to minimize our success because it took us so long. Reality is that I actually have a bachelor's degree. I should be just as proud of myself as the people who are proud of me for attaining it.

I can’t give enough credit to my advisor. No matter what, she knew what I was going through all the time. From one of my first courses, Educational Planning, my advisor got to know me better than anyone else. She was always there for me. She made sure that I followed through with my intentions.

Everyone I encountered, from my advisor to my instructors, cared about my reality and me. I didn’t get the sense that I was just another number. For me, that is the difference between somebody quitting and someone making the mark. Although the professors may not have been able to understand my daily responsibilities, the fact that they cared enough to try to understand was truly incredible.

I believe that this degree [community and human services] helped me see the human side of what I do every day, which at times I take for granted. We’re so "Army green" sometimes, that it helped me to see what’s out there on the outside. Attending Empire State College online helped open my eyes to other possibilities and enabled me to see that there is truly a need on the outside for health and human services. I think that students too often are focused on the bottom line, courses like business, etc., but we still need a human touch.

Keep on doing it. Don’t give in to the easy way out, which is not to finish. Just keep working at it.