What colleges have you attended?

I thought I had answered this question, but I didn’t…

Over 20 years ago, I attended a Japanese university in my hometown and earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish. After graduation, I worked as an office worker, and then I moved to Florida.

I studied English for one year and transferred to Florida International University. I earned a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management. Soon after graduation, I studied at Florida Atlantic University. I chose nonprofit management in graduate school, but I didn’t finish. A few years later, I studied at another graduate school and earned a master’s degree in foreign language education. I graduated from the same graduate school where my husband finished. Our graduation is a different year, and majors are different.

If my specialty hadn’t been foreign language education, I might have pursued a doctoral degree. Professors were bilingual in English and Spanish. My first language is Japanese (I speak English and Spanish), and I was around 36 years old when I graduated. I had a job and kids.

Almost all graduates were American (born and raised in the US) public school teachers. They already held teacher certifications and studied to add other subjects (English and Spanish) to their teaching credentials.

My current goal is to support my kids and save money. My eldest daughter will be a high school student within two years. My second daughter wants to be an English teacher. I am an Asian mom. I expect my kids are going to aim for a higher career than what I experienced.

But I would rather not force them to go to college. Having a degree is better than not having one, but a degree is not everything. Experience is sometimes more valuable than a degree.

 

By the way, can you answer these questions?

  1. Which are the five largest islands in the world?
     
  2.  How great is the earth’s annual motion?

 

A1. Australia, Greenland, Borneo, New Guinea, and Madagascar.

A2. About 68,000 miles an hour.

 

Questions are from a school exam in the 1800s. If I were a student in the 1800s, I wouldn’t pass the exam…😅

 

Photo by LILI

@liliflorida on Tumblr


5 responses to “What colleges have you attended?”

  1. pedmar10 Avatar

    You have move around in Univ… I only went to one got my BS and exactly that went up to Finance Director, yes experience is it earned and you will fine with degree or without. Cheers

    1. LILI FLORIDA Avatar

      Living in the US, English is essential (South Florida is a little different…). My husband came from Cuba at 20, and I came from Japan at 25. Our start was learning English.

      We met in Japan when we were students. He proposed to me when I was a senior. I was planning to go to Japanese graduate school to research multiculturalism, but he said to me, ”You can study in the US if you want.” At the time, he was a programmer and worked at FIU. He changed his career for me.

      I became pregnant twice while studying at FAU. I once stopped studying for my kids, but I had a chance to get my tuition paid by my employer. I returned to FIU and achieved my goal. It took so long, but I didn’t give up.

      We are both in our 40s and have 4 kids. Now money is a priority. 😅

      1. pedmar10 Avatar

        Money is always a priority It is a fascinating story indeed. My story is long but all documented in my blog which is my life’s history. I was born in Cuba but been around 81 countries and citizen of 4 after that….Best wishes Cheers

      2. LILI FLORIDA Avatar

        Wow!! I thought you were Cuban or Cuban American. I will read your life story. Have a great week! 😉

      3. pedmar10 Avatar

        Spanish Cuban American and French thank you!

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