By Alexandria Cashmer
Opportunities to learn are everywhere at UA, including at Capstone Village, the University’s very own residential community for people age 55+.
In the spirit of Women’s History Month, a group of female residents from Capstone Village gathered to share their wisdom with women at UA on life, building a career and college. Here are their top tips:
Life
From their lifetimes of experiences, the women advised:
- “Always have dreams. As a child, I always wanted to be a cheerleader. Then I wanted to be like my mother. Then I wanted to be like my friend who was a schoolteacher. And in time, I became a teacher. Then I had a dream that I would find my ‘handsome hero,’ and I did. And then as time went on, I had a dream that I would marry and have a child, and I did. I’m still dreaming. I had a dream that I would come and live close to my daughter, and here I am: Living my dreams from 6 years old. So dream, dream, dream.”
- “Live satisfied.”
- “I think that really all your life, you need to be prepared for the possibility of a change — that you aren’t going to be able to continue in the exact same position that you were in, and that something may happen, and it won’t be there anymore.”
Career
They see personal satisfaction as the keystone to finding the right career.
- “If you always want to get more, more, more, you’ll never be happy.”
- “I think what you have to do is pick a job or profession that you really love, and you’ll never work a day in your life. Because what you’re doing is what you really love to do.”
- “I want to say something to students, particularly freshmen and those who really don’t know what they want to do. Check it out. Try and find out what goes on with any and every profession. Don’t just go into one of them because somebody told you that would be good. It may not be what you want to live with.”
College
When it comes to surviving the pressures of college, they kept it practical and simple:
- “Get involved.”
- “Stay out of trouble.”
- “Be careful.”
In all, these women agree that the most valuable thing you can do is “learn who you are and how you want to show that. Just be yourself regardless of what you do.”