Dear Editor,
I'd like to commend the entire Ball State University student body for their efforts in making this university one of only 13 Institutions of Excellence in the First College Year, an honor bestowed upon us by The Policy Center of the First Year of College, based at Brevard College in North Carolina. The majority of Ball State's upper classmen were, at one time, first-year students at Ball State. Returning for subsequent years of study has launched Ball State to the elite status.
I'm a 36-year-old non-traditional student who returned to Ball State in Fall 2003 to finish what I started in Fall 1986. I was first inclined to write a brief article encouraging my fellow, albeit much younger, students to take their educational pursuits seriously and to maintain the wherewithal to finish their education; something I have wished countless times that I would have done 17 years ago. I remember all of the old people encouraging, nay, lecturing, me in 1988 when I announced I was withdrawing from school; I should have listened. What they advised to me then was, indeed, true: Most career paths lead to a dead end for those without a degree. And trust me, I've been down every path just to see for myself. It's true.
Before putting pen to paper, I investigated the retention rate maintained by Ball State for returning students. What I discovered indicates that my fellow students do, in fact, realize the importance of their education. Over 80 percent of the 2002 freshman class returned to Ball State for a second year in Fall 2003. This retention rate is what earned our university the honor of being one of only 13 Institutions of Excellence in the First College Year.
To the first-year students: The current semester will be complete in no time. No doubt many of you will use the summer break to decide whether you'll be return next fall. Don't make the mistake that I made in 1988. Plan now on returning next fall. You'll never regret that you did; you'll always regret that you didn't.
Andy Van Tassel
Student
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