FOR RELEASE: Monday, April 20, 2009
Mother and Son to Walk at May Commencement
Missy Raley and her son, Zach Raley, will each take home diplomas from the University of Arkansas on May 9.
Although the two earned degrees in different programs within the College of Education and Health Professions – mom in human resource development and son in recreation – they took the same geology class, doing a bit of studying together. They traded advice as students, too.
Missy Raley started college in the traditional manner, enrolling after high school graduation, but she dropped out and then wasn't able to complete a second attempt at college because of a move. After a hiatus in which she worked and raised her children, Missy found just the program she needed: a degree-completion program in human resource development offered in the College of Education and Health Professions.
"I was working at the University of Arkansas' Fayetteville campus," Missy explained. "Joy Sharp (director of budget and human resources) was my supervisor then. She was in the HRD program and she encouraged me to go back to school."
Missy had to complete several of her general education requirements before she started the HRD program in December 2006. She finished the degree in December 2008, setting up the double commencement ceremony this spring for the Raleys. Zach Raley finished the coursework for a bachelor's degree in recreation and will complete an internship this summer.
Zach switched from business to recreation as a major after backpacking with a friend who told him about the program. He hopes to work for a city parks and recreation department, with the goal of being a department director.
"In the geology class we took together, we studied the rocks together," Missy said. "You have to buy a sample bag of rocks so we brought them home, spread them out and examined them together.
"As far as giving each other advice, I'm always giving him advice, but we also talked about the sciences and which classes would be best to take. Zach had a friend who had taken biological anthropology and he recommended that to me."
"We sat next to each other in the geology class," Zach said. "It was right after lunch and sometimes I would fall asleep and she would nudge me. It was a unique experience. Not many people can say they took a college class with their mom."
The bachelor's degree-completion program in human resource development is designed for working adults who have completed the general requirements for a degree. They work in cohorts over two years, taking online classes. The program opens doors to opportunity and personal growth, said Phil Gerke, coordinator of the undergraduate HRD student center.
"The curriculum uncovers the 'people' skills and effective strategies leaders use to facilitate improvements in workforce performance beneficial to individuals, teams and organizations," according to Gerke. "These skills are ideal for many career and leadership positions. Undergraduates also obtain a solid academic base to pursue graduate studies."
Missy now works as executive assistant to Dr. Peter Kohler, vice chancellor of the northwest Arkansas satellite campus of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
"In the lab for that geology class, I sat across from a young woman who was a freshman," Missy recalled. "I remember her telling me she couldn't imagine her mother being in college.
"I would like to send the message that it's never too late to finish," she continued. "Many of us in my generation left school for one reason or another. If nothing else, this is a wonderful way to pat yourself on the back."
Missy is married to Joe Raley, who works at Tyson Foods Inc. They also have a daughter, Allison, who is a junior majoring in communication disorders at the university, and a son, Brian, who is serving with the U.S. Army in Iraq.
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Contact:
Heidi Stambuck, director of communications
College of Education and Health Professions
479-575-3138, stambuck@uark.edu