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Rhodes during her days as a Whitworth student |
by Bethany Monroe, '06
A college education had always been a part of the life plan of Rhosetta Rhodes, '99. Her parents instilled the value of education in her, and she set off to the University of South Florida after graduating high school – but life as a working mom and military wife got in the way.
When Rhodes enrolled in Whitworth's Continuing Studies Program, in 1996, she already had a full-time job and a growing family. Still, she knew that she needed her degree to fulfill her career goals. The continuing-studies program is designed for working adults like Rhodes who already have some college credit and want to complete their degrees without leaving the workforce.
"For many of our students, obtaining their degree is an affirmation of the journey they've been on and of the journey on which they'll continue after graduation," says Whitworth Continuing Studies Director Cheryl Florea Vawter, '94. "It's such a joy watching these peoples' lives change."
Rhodes knew that adding classes and homework to her balancing act of career and family would be a challenge, but she decided that finishing her degree would be worth it. Her three children tried to orchestrate their activities around her schedule, and she still made time to attend their basketball and football games.
"They picked up the slack," she says. "We just considered it a worthy investment."
Rhodes now serves as Spokane Falls Community College's director of continuing education, service-learning and community engagement, a job she began just two years after her graduation. "Service-learning enhances student education while meeting community needs," Rhodes says. She also continues to participate in community service in her free time.
In 2000, she organized Homeless Night at her church. Participants heard from a representative of a local women's shelter and then slept outdoors to experience a small taste of homelessness. Rhodes hoped the event would spur participants to understand the needs in their community and get involved in volunteer service.
"We dismantled a lot of myths about homelessness," Rhodes says. "People tend to think, ‘Oh, that won't happen to me,' when it really takes only one or two circumstances and anyone could be homeless."
Rhodes says she would never have landed her current job without her bachelor's degree. Although it was a sacrifice for her and her family, she is glad she did not give up her dream of completing a college education.
"I do value the education I got at Whitworth," Rhodes said. "It has served me well."
"Rhosetta is a smart, dynamic, engaged person," Vawter says. "You just knew she was going to find her place and use her degree in the best possible way, and she's always found a way to serve others. She's one of our great success stories."
For more stories about alumni and their lives and careers, visit www.whitworth.edu/transitions to read a new online magazine written by current students for Whitworth alumni.
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