by Judith Murdock, recently admitted ALB candidate

Judith Murdock

My first college experience was at Salem State College in 1961 right after I graduated from high school. I was one of 12 children and grew up in a very small town in western Massachusetts. At that time, I viewed higher education as a means to an end. A college education would provide the requirements for a teaching profession, in which I was interested at the time. However, life intervened and I followed a different path.

Today, 40 years after that first entry into college, I am pursuing my undergraduate degree that I put on the "back burner" while I raised a daughter and pursued a career in the business world. I've come to the liberal arts degree program at the Harvard Extension School to finally fulfill my dream. I have a vision of the way I would like the world to be and I know that I can make a difference through teaching.

Perhaps, I will teach in Uganda in East Africa in an effort to continue my contribution to their development. I have volunteered for 20 years for a project that was started in this country by a group of individuals who had a vision of a world that could work for everyone. Training and financial support was provided for a group of Ugandans in a small community who initially asked for help to feed their families. The project expanded from food to educational efforts and the community is now a known success story throughout the country. I traveled to Uganda two years ago and was so excited to see the rural university that has been operating for about ten years as a result of our efforts. The villagers themselves have improved their lives and the lives of future generations. The training we were able to provide for them allowed those individuals to take responsibility for their country--this was clearly the key to the success. It is important to highlight that all of the volunteers in this country benefited from the privilege of working with our Ugandan partners. My daughter, who was also involved in the project, has traveled to Uganda to take photographs to document the community's progress. Through this experience my daughter and I have learned that we're all citizens of the world.

My perspective on education has certainly changed since that first college course in 1961. Taking courses at the Harvard Extension School has re-awakened my "thirst for knowledge" and re-energized the plans for the rest of my life. The caliber and the support of the administrative staff, the professors, and everyone with whom I have dealt at the University are inspiring to me in the pursuit of my goals. I still have the same dream of becoming a teacher because I see that teaching is where I can make a difference in the lives of future students by supporting each of them to pursue their own educational, career, and community service dreams.