Special to the Mirror by Tina LeCato LPN, Riverside Health Services
As a full-time working nurse, mother and wife, I am appreciative of any opportunity to lessen the stress of achieving my college education. Given the updated requirements of a nursing career, I suddenly found myself in a position of having to go back to school to become degreed in my field and to further hone my skill set. I want to be the best I can be in my field, so off to school I went . . . again! Happily, a new initiative became available to me at Eastern Shore Community College. It is called TAKE 13 and was integrated into the ESCC curriculum last semester for the first time. I was somewhat dubious because it sounded almost too good to be true, but I decided to give it a try. I wanted to grab the chance to earn credits towards my degree by attending college conveniently on Saturdays. It was a great decision! I was able to attend classes without taking time off from work to do so. My daughter was at home being well cared for by her dad and I was finished with the program early enough in the day to go home and spend quality time with my family. It was a win-win situation all the way around. My stress level diminished, I enjoyed my Saturday classes because I had no particular time constraints, I was more relaxed and, therefore, more focused. The atmosphere of Saturday class is one of relaxed productivity between professors and students. I found the entire experience quite amazing and I am so grateful to have been a part of this new and innovative initiative at Eastern Shore Community College. I am happy to give TAKE 13 my highest recommendation to anyone who has an opportunity to experience and benefit from it. TAKE 13 is an asset to the college and a perk which should be welcomed by its students. Try it . . . you’ll be ever so glad you did!