June/July 2010 - Coulee Region Women's Magazine

PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONALWise WomenKeep LearningIt’s never to late to pursue a degree, knowledge or a dream.by Shari HeglandContributed PhotoSSomeday, I would loveto learn .(You fill in the blank.)Chances are goodthat, whatever it is,you can find a place in theCoulee Region to learnabout your dream, whetherit is developing the skills forthe job you want, knittinga sweater on your own orcompleting that degree that wasput on hold years ago.With several colleges anduniversities, plus a wide range of privatebusinesses and public entities focused onhelping people advance their knowledge, theCoulee Region is a great place for women tolive and learn.Hands-on learning is key to dream jobWhen Globe University opened in Onalaska lastfall, Shawn Sokolik saw an opportunity to move closerto the kind of job she really wants.“I was working in a factory. I wasn’t making muchmoney, and it wasn’t something I wanted to do for therest of my life,” this La Crosse woman says. “Workingwith animals is something I’ve wanted to do since I wasa kid.”When she completes her associate’s degree as aveterinary technician in about a year, Sokolik hopesto work with the ASPCA, aiding animals that havebeen abused and abandoned.She had attempted to take classestoward a vet tech degree in the past, she says, but the classeswere largely online, then required three hours of travel toget to the occasional lab. At Globe, everything is located onthe local campus, including labs where they get to work withanimals in need.“It’s hands-on experience, which is the best way to learn—toactually do it,” Sokolik says.Globe’s class schedule, with support from Sokolik’s parents,has allowed the mother of two to pursue her dreams and spendtime with her family.“I try to do (homework) when my son is doing homework,or after the kids go to bed,” she says.Now it’s Mom’s turnGwen LaPour has helped guide children—her own, those shehas cared for through her in-home day care and numerous fosterand respite care children—for nearly 30 years.“I wanted to be the one who helped my children grow and learnthe values I felt were important,” she says, “to learn the character,integrity and respect I wanted them to have as young adults.”Though she attended college for a short time after highschool, her own education was set aside to care for her family.When the youngest of her four children graduated from highschool and started college, LaPour decided it was time toreturn to school herself, for the education she would need tobe a social worker.She started out with the Self-Sufficiency Program at theUniversity of Wisconsin-La Crosse, a program designed toextend the availability of higher education to low-incomeparents by preparing them to be successful college students.“(Program director Amy Sullivan) helped me see that I couldgo to school, and I could write papers and do different things,”LaPour says.Then, after talking to a counselor at Viterbo University,20 JUNE/JULY 2010 www.crwmagazine.com