After Penny Warren’s children graduated from college,
the 44-year-old police dispatcher decided: “Now it’s my turn.” She enrolled at the
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in spring 2010.
Originally an economics major, Warren was awakened to
her impact on the world around her while taking environmental classes.
Professor Holly Petrillo instructed students in a natural resources class to
keep track of their water use for one week. Warren was astounded by how much
she had used. An environmental geology course with Professor Kevin Hefferan
changed how she thought about the world, and led her to major in geoscience.
“I went in caring about the environment. I didn‘t
realize how little I knew about the environment until I started taking
classes,” she said. Understanding how everything in the ecosystem is connected
was transformational for her.
Warren is among about 10 percent
of UW-Stevens Point’s students who are nontraditional, pursuing a degree after
spending time in the workforce, raising a family or serving in the military. Nearly
a quarter of the students graduating this December are older than age 24.
“I wish how I feel and what I gained at college for
everyone. It’s a life-changing experience. You don’t know what you’re missing
until you start taking classes,” Warren said. “My mind has been expanded beyond
anything I could have imagined.”
Warren grew up on a farm in Westfield. She quit high
school at age 16, was married at 17 and had her daughter at age 18.
She completed her GED and police training. She worked as
a Marquette County Sheriff’s deputy for nearly nine years and for the Stevens
Point Police Department as a dispatcher for 11½ years when she decided to get
her bachelor’s degree.
“I appreciate my classes more now than I would have at
age 20.”
In spite of the fact that she’s closer in age to many of
her classmates’ parents, Warren said fellow students have been warm, welcoming
and respectful. “In class I feel like one of them. I almost forget I’m not the
same age.”
After being away from the classroom for 20 years, Warren
was afraid of her ability to learn and pass exams. “My biggest fear was I
wouldn’t be able to succeed.”
Check off that fear. Warren had a 4.0 grade point
average going into her final semester.
“I’ve worked very, very hard. I have homework every
night. I go to class, I listen in class,” she said. To prepare for a geology
class at UW-Stevens Point, she looked up how to do trigonometry online.
As a full-time student, Warren worked on campus in the
Tutoring Learning Center, Aquatics Biomonitoring Lab and the CPS (College of
Professional Studies) Café, where dietetics students plan and prepare locally
grown food.
Between the café and an environmental ethics class,
Warren learned how to eat and cook more healthfully. She lost 17 pounds. “I
raised my kids on macaroni and cheese and hotdogs, and now I can prepare a
broccoli pot pie and dal bhat (a rice and lentil soup staple in Nepal).”
Warren has minors in environmental studies, geology and economics
and hopes to find a job protecting natural resources or in environmental
monitoring.
“Penny
displayed remarkable enthusiasm, profound interest in geosciences and a desire
to learn,” Hefferan said. “I loved having Penny in my geology classes because
she motivated all students to approach her level of appreciation and love of
science and its impact on society and our lives.”
She believes everyone should find and pursue their
passion. “I am so passionate about preserving the environment, about taking
care of each other, our communities and our world so we can live sustainably.”
Warren will share her gratitude during a commencement
address Saturday. “This place is fabulous. I can’t say enough about the
dedicated professors. They go out of their way to get students engaged. I stand
in awe of how much they do,” she said.
“This has been a life-changing, wonderful experience.
Everyone should come to UW-Stevens Point.”
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