The Road Back

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Sean Turner ’22 was waiting for his introduction to psychology class to begin. All his classmates were there, but as the minutes ticked by, there was no sign of their professor. Then a friend of Turner’s turned around and said, “Hey man, did you hear about the plane that hit the World Trade Center?”

By that evening, Turner, then a freshman at Eastern Carolina University, would be shifting away from being a student. “I was sitting in the lobby of my dorm,” Turner recalls. “I called my mother and I said, ‘Hey, I’ve been thinking …’  and that’s the only thing I got out of my mouth. She said, ‘Don’t you do it.’”

But Turner had decided. He told his mom he would finish out the fall semester, then move home in December and join the Marines. “I said, ‘College will always be here,’” he says. “I didn’t realize it was going to be 20 years before I got back into it.”

Helping adults such as Turner return to the classroom, no matter how much time has passed, has become an increased priority for USC Upstate and other state colleges. While South Carolina is not expected to experience the “enrollment cliff” – a decline in the number of high school graduates that begins next year – its students could be heavily recruited by those states that will. Adult learners offer an additional market to tap into to mitigate against potential losses.

But degree attainment also has economic implications, for both students and counties. While data shows college graduates have better social mobility than those without degrees, an educated workforce is also a draw for new business.

Economic impact

Nationally, about 37 million people under 65 have some college but no degree or credential, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. In Spartanburg County, about 50,000 people fall into that category, representing a significant enrollment opportunity.

The push for degree attainment is about more than increasing enrollment numbers, however. USC Upstate and Spartanburg’s six other colleges are part of Movement 2030, an initiative by the Spartanburg Academic Movement that seeks to improve degree or certificate attainment in the county. Only 28% of county residents have a bachelor’s degree or higher, which can affect economic development, says Erin Smith, director of adult degree re-engagement at OneSpartanburg.

“When business and industry are looking at us as a place to set up a headquarters or open a new branch or expand, they’re looking at that degree attainment rate as a factor for what kind of a skilled workforce we have,” Smith says.

The Re:Degree program, launched last year by OneSpartanburg and Movement 2030, seeks to improve that rate. It works with adult learners, either directly or through coordinators on a college campus, to remove the barriers that led them to leave school in the first place. Re:Degree also helps students develop a plan for completing a degree or certificate.

Among the reasons students often drop out is money. That was the case for Sharell Taylor, who as a first-time student putting herself through USC Upstate back in 2012 didn’t understand the limits of financial aid. “So it ran out,” she says.

Taylor tried again a few years later, but left when she had a baby. By then she had also changed majors, from nursing to child development and family studies, which added to the time she needed to complete her degree. Still, Taylor never gave up on the idea of finishing. Now re-enrolled at USC Upstate as an interdisciplinary studies major, she hopes to become an early interventionist after completing her degree.

“I always wanted to have it done,” she says. “I thought it needed to be completed, and I was always so close, so I just wanted to do it for me, my daughter, and my great-grandmother. Her biggest thing was education.”

A welcome home

Taylor was among the students Debbie Little first contacted when she started as USC Upstate’s Re:Degree advisor in April 2024. Little set herself the goal to re-enroll as many students as she could and support them in whatever ways they needed to finish.  Armed with a list of former students in Spartanburg County, Little began cold calling, anticipating that she’d get a lot of hang-ups.

“But I was really surprised,” she says. “It’s been a very warm reception. They’re really appreciative that somebody’s thinking about them, reaching out to them, willing to help them.”

Concurrent with her calls, Little began researching resources in the community that could help students with any obstacles to returning. That included everything from sources of financial assistance and child care to housing and school supplies. The Re:Degree program itself offers small grants to help cover tuition shortfalls.

Little also does a deep dive into each student’s particular academic situation. In some cases, students need fewer classes to graduate than they thought due to requirement adjustments in the course catalog through the years. In others, such as Taylor’s, switching to an interdisciplinary studies major allows students to be credited for the courses they’ve already completed while reducing the requirements they have left.

Little admits she initially was dissatisfied with her efforts. Fourteen former Upstate students were readmitted to college for the fall 2024 semester, 10 of them at Upstate itself. Little says sometimes she directs students to a different college if Upstate doesn’t offer the classes they need, since the goal is graduation, no matter the school.  

But the successes have quickly grown. In December, Upstate graduated its first six students from the program, and Little is proud there are 30 students enrolled this spring at the university, all but one of them a former Upstate student.

Among the December graduates was Ashley Turner ’24, an accounting major who needed just one class to complete her degree. Turner had transferred into Upstate as a sophomore in 2016 but got discouraged when she couldn’t pass the last class she needed for her major. Because she had already secured an accounting job, she left school and went to work.

“My boss was OK with me starting before I got my degree, but he always wanted to make sure I did continue and get my degree,” Turner says.

His support and willingness to give her flexibility in her work schedule helped Turner when she decided she was ready to return this past fall. She had recently had a baby, and knew it would be challenging to juggle work, school and a newborn. Still, she says, “I got some inspiration from having my son. You have to finish what you start, and I wanted to be a good role model for him.”

Although it felt strange to be back in a classroom, Turner discovered she was a more effective student this time around. Rather than taking notes on everything the professor said, she listened carefully so she would understand what she was writing down. She became better at time management, fitting in her studying and homework whenever her son was asleep. Her boss also gave her time off to study when she had a test the next day.

Now that she has her degree, “I think it’ll give me more confidence to venture out for my job,” Turner says. “My boss is like, you can always find something at a higher level than this, your degree can get your more opportunity.”

That’s exactly the message Smith shares when she gives presentations about Re:Degree around the county. “Education is the great equalizer, so by focusing on adult degree attainment, we’re saying, ‘Hey, you have an opportunity to grow yourself right here.’”

Going places

Some adults who return to college have come to that realization on their own after being out in the working world. Paula Fain ’19, a business administration graduate with a concentration in accounting, had been a hairdresser for about 15 years when she decided she needed a career that would provide her with health insurance and retirement savings. Fain had briefly attended Greenville Technical College when she graduated from high school in 1990, but it wasn’t for her.

In the years since, she had gotten married, had two children, then divorced. Fain was ready to make some changes. She applied at Upstate, but was advised to take some courses at Spartanburg Community College first since she hadn’t been in college for awhile. That allowed Fain to complete requirements and earn an associate degree before transferring to Upstate for her bachelor’s.

Going back to school in her 40s, Fain knew that a lot of people – including her first advisor – didn’t believe she would succeed. “All of that noise kind of pushed me to think, ‘I will make it. I’m going to prove you wrong,’” she says.

But it wasn’t easy. Fain’s young sons were active in soccer, so she had to balance her studies with being a soccer mom. Her part-time job as a bookkeeper for the soccer club allowed her to attend in-person classes after she dropped her sons off at school, but as soon as her classes were over, she was back over to school for pickup. During soccer practices, Fain would study in the parking lot.

“I became quite comfortable in my car,” she recalls. “I would have my books here, my laptop there. I had my little cozy area.”

After completing her degree, Fain found a whole new world opening up to her. With help from Hannah Terpack, director of Career Management at Upstate, she landed her first accounting job, then a second when the first company was sold and closed its office. That led to her current position, as controller and finance manager, and human resources manager, at Germany-based Eisenmann.

Fain’s new job brought travel opportunities, too. On only two days’ notice, she flew to Germany for the first time to meet the accounting team at company headquarters. The travel bug bit, and since then Fain has been to Iceland and Italy on her own, with a trip to Antarctica planned at the end of the year.

“Education has given me a life that I never realized that I could have,” Fain says.

New stage of life

Fain’s experiences highlight what Smith says is another benefit of having a degree. “When students get that additional credential, they’re eligible for more roles within the organization where they’re working, or for a new role outside of it,” she says.

Since many adults start degrees at a community college, Upstate partnered with Greenville Technical College in 2023 on a reverse transfer agreement. The arrangement allows students to transfer to Upstate after two years and continue to earn an associate degree while working toward a bachelor’s. School leaders say earning an associate can provide encouragement to keep going while also giving students something to fall back on if they have to put their studies on pause.

Ginger Jiang transferred to Upstate in the fall after earning an associate degree in science at Spartanburg Community College. Her plan at the time was to pursue a bachelor’s in biology, with the goal of going to medical school. But the death of a popular Chinese martial artist who Jiang followed on social media made her reconsider everything.

“He was only 20 years old, and he died in a car accident,” she says. “I feel like that could be me at any moment. So if this is the last day of my life, what would I want to do?”

The owner of a successful yoga studio in Spartanburg and an artist, Jiang turned her focus away from a career-oriented major to one she found enjoyable and meaningful: theater. She also is a mom of a 7-year-old son, and between her businesses and child, she realized she didn’t have the time or energy to devote to the years of schooling required for a medical degree.

“Theater is something that I can enjoy and still stay in school and maintain my current career,” she says.

Earning a bachelor’s fits with Jiang’s desire to continually acquire new knowledge. Originally from China, Jiang says her worldview has grown since her days as high school student. “Coming back to school, I have the experience not only of being a student, but also of being a mom, a wife, a business owner, an employee of others, a community leader, and a participant in many organizations,” she says. “I’m always a learner. I think learning is what makes life meaningful.”

Jiang keeps a tightly organized schedule to make everything work. She rises at five every morning, then teaches an hour-long class at her studio at 6 a.m. or attends a martial arts class. Next, she takes her son to school and heads to campus for classes. After a quick lunch, she’ll teach a yoga class, sometimes at a corporate site, then squeeze in a massage therapy or private yoga session before holding her regular yoga class at 4:30. Before bedtime, she and her son practice jujitsu and Chinese before she leads an online mediation session at 8 p.m.

“I will see where the four-year degree leads me, but right now I’m enjoying every single moment,” Jiang says.

Dream fulfilled

Even for those adults who have gone on to build meaningful lives without a degree, the satisfaction of finally having one is immense. Turner, the Marine veteran, served for 20 years before retiring as a gunnery sergeant in 2023. Along the way he got married and had two sons and built a successful career in nuclear security at the McGuire Nuclear Station near Charlotte, North Carolina.

But Turner never forgot that phone call with his mom back in 2001, and his promise to her that he’d return to school. “I’ve accomplished all this stuff, and I feel really proud of myself for doing it, but something that I never really buckled down with was applying myself and finishing that degree,” Turner remembers thinking.

After his first son was born, he also became conscious of setting an example. “How will I ever hold him accountable on finishing something he started if I’ve got this big black eye of quitting school?” Turner says.

So with his military retirement approaching, Turner decided the time had come to get his degree. Online classes made it easier to fit his coursework in around his job and family, but there were plenty of challenges. COVID hit the year after Turner started, and he found himself helping his son negotiate online learning while also working on his own classes.

But each time Turner felt like quitting, his wife was there to encourage him. “My wife is my number one support system,” he says. “She would talk me back and refocus me on the long-term goal.”

The night he turned in his final project for his senior seminar, the significance of the moment hit Turner all at once. “I’ll be honest with you, I cried a little bit,” he says. “I was like, you persevered. You made it. You didn’t do it alone, but my gosh, you did it. And now it’s off the bucket list.”

When graduation arrived, Turner’s wife drove with his two young sons so his parents could take him. They wanted to complete the journey that had started when they dropped him off at college all those years ago. Though some of Turner’s friends and colleagues wondered why he’d want to sit through a long ceremony, there was no question in his mind about attending. “This is a big deal, and by gosh, I’m walking across that field,” he recalls thinking.

No matter what path someone takes to return to school, whether on their own or through a program like Re:Degree, the important thing is to take that first step, Smith says. Anyone who started college at some point already understands the value of an education. “I tell students when I talk to them, you already have been thinking about this,” she says. “Sometimes just saying to them, ‘I’m here for you when you need me,’ gives them the courage to move forward.”

Re:Degree’s goal is to reach 10% of the 50,000 “some college, no degree” Spartanburg County residents. Even if they don’t all re-enroll, each one who does is a victory, Smith says. Out of the 570 the program has contacted so far, 110 have re-enrolled, ahead of the benchmarks Re:Degree has set.

“We want to do everything in our power to get everybody across the stage,” Smith says. “Are we going to get everybody across the stage by the year 2030? No. But if we can get you on that path towards graduation and keep you on it, that’s a success in my book.”