Family makes the grade
While having lunch at a restaurant one day, Linda Fors saw an older couple sharing a meal in complete silence.
She began to fear this was what her future would look like.
“I thought [my husband and I] could end up like them, with nothing to talk about,” Fors said.
Fors earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from BYU in 1975. Today, she is working toward a second degree, in nursing, from Citrus College in Glendora.
After a push from her daughter-in-law who said she’d make a great nurse, Fors took the plunge back into the classroom.
“I wanted to stay young, keep my brain exercised and have something to do in the day,” she said. “I wanted a specific skill set that could be translated to different arenas.”
Today, when the Fors family gets together, there is no shortage of things to talk about because no one is sitting still.
Two generations and more than half of the family will be continuing their pursuit of a degree in higher education in the 2010-11 academic year.
“I think everyone wants to better their skills and maximize their potential; that’s something we’ve always emphasized as a family,” said Linda’s husband, Dennis Fors.
The Fors family, parents Dennis and Linda and their kids Darron, Eric, Brittany and Allison, have always stressed the importance of a good education.
“We all thought education was a way you could see the world,” Linda Fors said. “Education is a skill you can’t get taken away from you; what’s in your head is capital that can never be taken away from you.”
Brigham Young University has benefited from the Fors scholarship, as each member of the family received an undergraduate degree from the faith-based school.
The family gained something more valuable than an education at BYU; three of the four children married someone they met at the university.
Darron, Brittany and Eric Fors attend BYU. Darron is in his senior year as a pre-med student majoring in physiology and developmental biology, and Brittany is starting her junior year as an organizational behavior major. Eric is beginning his final year in the master’s of business administration program at BYU.
Allison works in public relations after graduating from BYU with an undergraduate degree in the subject.
Today, the Forses attending BYU have more in common with their mom than ever before, now that they’re all taking college courses.
Darron said his mom’s return to school has added a dimension to their relationship. He said it feels strange to him to be taking finals at the same time as his mom.
“We joke that she’ll be a nurse in my practice someday,” Darron said.
For now, the Fors family is focused on continuing to make the grade, as Linda, Darron and Brittany each made the dean’s list at their respective campuses.