June 21, 2006 - 5:00pm
Going back to school after three kids wasn’t easy for Barbara Moody.
On the first day she walked to Malaspina University-College, she turned around three times to head back home before plucking up enough courage to walk into the classroom.
Now she laughs at her fear, realizing going back to school was the best thing she could have ever done.
“It’s hard when you’re an adult student,” said Moody while sipping coffee at her kitchen table. “The technology can be difficult. When I left high school we were learning DOS.”
Not only did Moody overcome learning new technologies, balancing family and school, she also overcame a physical challenge – being partially blind.
Moody has a rare genetic disorder called Retinitis Pigmentosa. From the moment she was born her eye sight began to deteriorate. The damage wasn’t apparent to Moody until a few years ago when she wanted to return to school to study nursing.
Before applying for Malaspina’s program she went in to have her eyes checked only to discover she’d adapted to using only 50 per cent of her vision. She had lost all her peripheral vision and the rest of the world she saw through a space the size of a pen.
“I knew I couldn’t be a nurse anymore because I couldn’t see well enough to stick a needle in someone’s arm,” Moody laughs.
Moody’s philosophy is “go big or go home”. She was determined her sight would not take away her love of life so she signed up for the Applied Business Technology program.
“I really wanted my kids to see even if you have a disability it doesn’t mean you can quit life. If I can do this anybody can because nobody was more scared than me,” said Moody.
“Malaspina was everything I felt college should do for you.”
Once she got in the doors, Moody was pleased to discover a supportive classroom environment for her and for her guide dog, Heidi, a fun-loving and friendly golden lab.
“Heidi really broke the ice with people. They’ll remember her sometimes better than they remember me,” said Moody.
“I really felt at home at Malaspina.”
Heidi became quite a fixture at Malaspina. She had her own bowl of water beside the coffee machine in the lower cafeteria, her own mat in the classroom and a group of friends eager to give her a pet when she wasn’t in her harness working.
“I enjoyed how everybody enjoyed the dog. When Heidi got up to stretch everyone knew it was lunch time.”
Now, 10 months later, Moody will be walking across the stage to receive her Applied Business Technology Certificate at the Malaspina Theatre, June 23.
“I finished what I started and I’m working to boot,” said Moody, who now works as an administrator for a local roofing company.
“Malaspina really made it so Barb could have a positive learning experience,” said Moody’s husband Shaun.
“The instructors and staff gave her the tools she needed and gave her the feeling she would actually succeed.”
“It was no surprise to us that Barb landed office employment quickly after graduation,” said Betty Serjeant, Coordinator/Instructor of the Applied Business Technology program.
“Her genuine desire to help others, her gentle and cheerful disposition, her perseverance to work through whatever challenges came her way, and her heartfelt appreciation for educational opportunities and for the people who helped and supported her along the way are some of the qualities that we most admire in Barb.”
Malaspina University-College’s 10-month Applied Business Technology Program provides an opportunity for students to develop the requisite technical and computer skills, as well as interpersonal and communication skills, for employment in today’s offices.
Tags: In the Community
