Oxford, New Jersey and transferring to UCSC from Everett Community College in Everett, Washington at the age of 37.

“Going back for your bachelor’s degree is a big leap,” she says. “It requires combining family and school, and school can be all-consuming.” Diane coordinates her activities with her husband, who is attending Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey Bay, so that one of them is almost always at home for her sons, who are now 11 and 13.

With her busy schedule, Diane is grateful for the ways that UCSC supports its students. “Two things they always tell you when you’re going from a community college to a university: number one, it’s harder, and number two, at the university, you’ll just be a number. The first is definitely true, but the second has not been true at all at UCSC.” Diane cites helpful professors, TAs for the larger lecture courses, tutors, class web sites with forums, and Modified Supplemental Instruction as some of the resources that have helped her.
           
Diane also received financial help in the form of a Snader Scholarship, a scholarship for engineering students, which enabled her to attend Summer Session in 2008.