SYLMAR : Seminars Offer Tips for Older Scholars

A daylong series of seminars designed to help students returning to school after long absences is planned next month at Mission College.

“It really helps them get through a lot of the fears they have in returning,” said Geri Shapiro, counselor with the New Horizons program, a federally funded program to help single parents and others who are going back to college in order to get a better job.

“What happens is that returning students actually do better than they expect,” Shapiro added.

The seminars, scheduled to run from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. July 15, are planned for the college’s Third Annual Re-entry Day program.

Shapiro, a returning student at Pierce College 16 years ago, said she understands the pressures involved. “I was pretty nervous at first. But once you have some success it builds your confidence.”

The student population at Mission is predominantly part time and mostly women and mostly Latino, Shapiro said.

“There is a very high percentage of returning students at Mission College,” she said.

Seminar topics include stress management, career counseling, building self-esteem and assertiveness, overcoming addictive behaviors and tips on surviving school.

The school survival tips are concepts that those who have been away from school for a long while may have forgotten--time management, the use of study groups, working in a library to get away from the noise and distraction at home, using index cards to study for tests and taking regular breaks during long periods of work.

The seminars are free to returning students or those considering going back to college. To register, contact Shapiro at the college.