CAHS Grad Completes Degree Wish...After a 30 Year Gap

In 1979 Colleen Kelly of Oberlin, Ohio, wanted what many teenagers want—to attend a four- year college. During her senior year in high school, however, Kelly’s father was diagnosed with cancer and her life and career path took a different direction. 

The oldest of five children, Kelly decided to stay put and attend Loraine County Community College, work, and help her mother care for her ailing father. He passed away during Kelly’s first year of college. At the time, she was 18 and her youngest brother was 9. While helping out at home, she continued to work and graduated from Loraine in 1983 with an associate’s degree in medical laboratory sciences, which led to a successful career working for reference and hospital laboratories for nearly 30 years.

But…

"I always wanted to go back to get my bachelor’s degree,” she says of making the decision in August 2011 to enroll in the online medical laboratory sciences bachelor’s degree program offered through the University of Cincinnati College of Allied Health Sciences. 

"I knew UC’s reputation, and the fact that it was online was perfect for me. It’s been a long three years. I worked full time and took classes … it seemed like class after class, but it was the best thing I ever did.”

Kelly will travel to Cincinnati to receive the degree at summer commencement on Saturday, Aug. 9, with her mother by her side.