My daughter just shared the happy news...

[BWdem4life]

She has earned her Associate of Arts!



She is 29. Me being poor, (and a single dad to boot), I was unable to pay for college. I warned her very strongly against student loans, and told her there was really no rush. I myself have no degree - I washed out early due to the high cost (even in 1987 it was too much for me), went to work and never got one.

Opportunity came when she broke up with her boyfriend in 2020 and moved in with me and my fiance. At that point she was 25. I told her that as long as she was going to school, she could pay $200 rent. She took the bull by the horns, got financial aid and worked part time, went to community college.

Persistence has paid off and she has her first degree. She is now at a good, but relatively inexpensive 4-year institution, working on a BS in Chemistry. Why chemistry? Heck if I know... I was lousy in Chemistry. But I'm sure it will open all kinds of doors for her. She had to move in with her grandma because it was too far away, which is actually very helpful to my mom as her husband has cancer now

At any rate, that's my boast for the day!

[FakeNoose]

1. Congratulations, this is wonderful news

Your daughter made some great choices and she did the hard work to get ahead. Meanwhile you gave her awesome advice, and you gave her a chance to spread her wings. It's a win-win!

[underpants]

2. Great news. Good for her.

[Hope22]

3. Good news is great to hear! Not boasting at all!

Congratulations to your daughter! 😁👍

[Easterncedar]

4. Chemistry? Excellent choice

She’s not taking the easy road. Of course you are proud. Well done you! Thanks for sharing the good news!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. Yes, not easy, but leads to a lifetime of delights and employment. . . . nt

[a kennedy]

5. #1 reason to boast, and good for you AND your daughter.

Congratulations

[Faux pas]

6. Sending the vibes to all of you!

Kudos to your daughter and to her proud daddy

[cachukis]

7. The little things are actually big things when you

zoom in. Cool.

[MLAA]

9. Fantastic!

A degree in Chemistry will serve her well, either directly using her degree or in another field just demonstrating she was smart enough to achieve such a difficult degree! Go, daughter!

[debm55]

10. Congratulations to you and your daughter.

[Tanuki]

11. Fantastic news! No wonder you're proud....

I'm beaming with pride on her behalf and I don't know either of you! But her intelligence and hard work are definitely paying off and creating a bright, rewarding future for her!

[robleb]

12. WOW, SUPER for her!!

[liberalla]

13. Congratulations to her and you! You have every reason to be proud and boast!

[iluvtennis]

14. Woohoo!

[NNadir]

15. I am a chemist and it is a pleasure to welcome a young woman to our profession.

I regard it as a very satisfying career, one that serves humanity in subtle but essential ways and offers the highest level of intellectual satisfaction.

Congratulations all around. I wish your family every success in the world.

[woodsprite]

16. Congratulations to you both! Chemistry is an awesome choice.

It reaches into so many areas. I have friends and family who have chemistry backgrounds that have found their spots in fashion merchandising, fire protection engineering, art conservation, historic preservation, a paint company, and medical fields, to name a few. It's so exciting as a parent to see doors open for our children.

[TBF]

17. This is great -

you did a lot just by providing housing! I am certain she is grateful for the support, and it is a blessing that she's able to help your mom in return. (My siblings and I did state colleges too - we were the first generation in our family to go to college)

[c-rational]

18. Congratulations, well done by all. Chemistry is a wonderful field which can lead to many opportunities.

[LoisB]

19. Good for her! I know you must be very proud. I wish her well.

[zeusdogmom]

20. Kudos to your daughter

And to you - nothing better than a good steady parent

[MyMission]

21. Congratulations! And some advice from a former academic administrator

I suggest she take 12 additional credits in education so she can be certified to teach!
Working in higher ed for many years, I suggested this to many students, and the ones that did so were always grateful. Majoring in Science, History, English, Art whatever, having a teaching certificate can open doors and offer options after graduation. I'll add that I did not do that, and ended up teaching with a provisional license and needed to go back to school for 12 credits to get certified. That's my unsolicited advice. Please share it with your daughter.
I know you're proud of her!

[people]

22. That's just great!

I'm sure you are so proud of her. She will do so well.

[yobrault1]

23. Congratulations! I know exactly how you feel

I did the same with my daughter, she got her computer science degree over a 10 year span but ended up with $0 student debt because she stayed home, worked to pay for every semester until she was done. Now she makes more money than I do but she is not burdened with massive student debt and can save towards buying her first home.

It's very rewarding, even though I could not pay for her education, I provided, as did you, an enabling environment for her to achieve her goals.

[Biglinda 52]

24. A BS in Chemistry can open doors

My neighbor's daughter has a BS in Chem and she's a food chemist. She also has a side (unpaid) gig with America's Test kitchen as a recipe tester. Congrats to your daughter!

[LittleGirl]

25. Well done sir!

I finished my degree at age 45 and I was so happy about how long it took and how important it was to me. I had to get a couple of student loans while I took classes so that my employer could repay me when I passed the test. They wouldn't cover every single class but it helped to pay for 95% of them. When I got reimbursed, I was debt free. Good for her! I'm so happy to see another young woman put in the work to be successful! Yay.

[karin_sj]

26. Very inspiring story!

Congratulations to her for being such a responsible and caring person, and to you for raising and supporting such a great person!

[Karadeniz]

27. Fabulous! Tell her all the good people on DU are proud of her!!!

[BWdem4life]

29. I will! nt

[CrispyQ]

28. That is a wonderful accomplishment!!

And a good degree, too! It was his knowledge of chemistry that saved Captain Kirk from the gorn.

[Moostache]

30. Congrats! Wishing all the best for her and you! (n/t)

[DemonGoddess]

31. Congratulations to your daughter!

[leftieNanner]

32. Fabulous!

If she chooses to go the distance and get a PhD in chemistry, the grad school will be free and she will be paid a stipend.

My daughter did, and is now an assistant professor in that field.

Congratulations 🎉

[calimary]

33. Terrific news!!!

And BIGTIME CONGRATULATIONS to your daughter!

[Warpy]

34. I've been telling a lot of kids that an AD will net them a job that pays the bills

and once they can do that, they can sart thinking about working on that BA or BS without incurring a crippling amount of debt . It's not the easiest way, but it can be done.

[bluboid]

35. wonderful for you & her!!!

[Figarosmom]

36. Good job

To you and your daughter. WY to go!

[Liberal In Red State]

37. Soooooo happy for all of you! What an accomplishment!!!

[malaise]

38. Congrats

to both of you😀

[Ziggysmom]

39. Congratulations to both of you! That is how I got my college degrees, some decades ago.

In the real, working world you get ahead by hard work and what you know, not where your diplomas came from. I work in IT and often meet new grads who have massive student loan debt. All that status of attending a snooty private college has long worn off. Hope you two can celebrate together.

[PittBlue]

40. Congratulations! You should be very proud.

[Ligyron]

41. Excellent news!

[HeartsCanHope]

42. Congratulations to your daughter! It is a wonderful achievement!

[Bluejeans]

43. Chemistry is a great career choice -- my dad was a food chemist, flavorist & scientist for over 50 years

Tell your daughter to look into chemist jobs in the food industry, especially jobs for "flavorists". My dad specialized in flavors for food, drinks and pharmaceuticals.

You may have run across my dad's work when you were raising your daughter. My dad invented the sweet candy grape flavor for Children's Dimetapp!

Here's an article explaining what a "flavorist" does on a daily basis:

https://www.owlguru.com/career/flavorists/

[GeoWilliam750]

44. That is WONDERFUL!!!!

[bdamomma]

45. Congrats

all the best to her!!!

[Skittles]

46. kudos to you, too

for helping her find her way well into adulthood

[FirstLight]

47. How awesome congratulations to her ,and go proud daddy!!

Im back at my BA at 54... Scared as fuck but what the hell else am I gonna do? My body can't keep up with the old jobs I used to work, so here we go!

Chemistry is no joke! Good for her!!

[catchnrelease]

48. Excellent!!

She's got smarts doing things the way she has been doing. Two of my grandkids have taken the same route. Junior college first two years, got themselves some aid and are now both in a state college that's near home. So one commutes the short distance from home and the other shares an apartment with other young women. They should both be able to graduate without the horrible loan debt. Congrats to your daughter and her proud dad!!

[Old Crank]

49. Good for her

Wish her good luck wtih her chemistry studies.
That course in college was a real struggle for me. Not the lab parts the other stuff, valence levels and the like.
Now my wife didn't pursue a liberal arts type degree because that would have been hard. She did chemistry and later developed a chemical storage system based on reactivity to store them.