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May 9, 2008 11:26 pm US/Central
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Graduates Astound: Marine, Mom, And College Grad
(WCCO)
Forty years ago, Nikki Studey was a typical freshman at the University of Wisconsin's Madison campus. She expected to graduate in four years, but it didn't work out that way.
"I loved the town, and it was a lot of fun," she recalled. "But at the end of that year I just really didn't know what I wanted to do and thought 'I just need to step away from school for a while and put some thought into what I want to do.'"
Studey left college in the spring of 1969 and joined the Marines.
"There were very few women in the Marine Corps at that time, but they were actively recruiting women for secretarial type positions, clerking type of positions," she said. "They didn't waste any time; they had me talked into it just like that."
Stationed in South Carolina, Studey finished boot camp with honors. After being named platoon leader, she was featured in the base newsletter. That's how she caught the eye of a fellow Marine, Paul McGowan.
"That's a good-looking woman. I'm gonna have to date her," he said, recounting his thoughts when he saw the newsletter.
Studey and McGowan say they knew they were in love after only two weeks. Months later, they became married Marines, but when Studey got pregnant, she had to leave the service.
The next 30 years passed quickly. Studey became the mother of two boys and a farm wife near Dassel, Minnesota.
"We were just starting with farming and so we were very poor," said Studey. "To help out with finances, our boys were really little, and I wanted to be around them while they were little, I agreed to go work in Dassel for six months to help with our finances."
Six months turned into seven years. Studey says she enjoyed juggling life on the farm with work outside the home. She kept chipping away at her coursework, too, earning an Associate's degree in 1988 and continuing toward her Bachelor's.
Studey worked for Hutchinson Technology for 22 years, regularly getting promotions and praise for her leadership skills. Then last June, she was laid off along with 500 other workers.
The layoff was the incentive Studey needed to finish her degree.
"So I did focus on getting back into Cardinal Stritch and finding out what I needed to do to complete my degree," said Studey. "I found out I only had 8.6 credits left do, so it wasn't a huge amount."
After losing her job, Studey went to her local Jobs and Training Services Office. She went for assistance and ended up landing a job there. Since then, she's been promoted.
In the final stretch of her education and all those years before, Studey knew she had McGowan's support.
"Sometimes he would even drive me (to class) if he was afraid I was going to fall asleep on the road on the drive back and forth, because there was so much going on and I didn't always get a lot of sleep," she said. "He was concerned and he said 'I'm just driving you up' and he would, it was really nice."
Studey will receive her Bachelor's degree in Business on Sunday, June 1. Her husband is flying in her parents from Racine, Wisconsin. One of her sons is coming to town, too, with his wife and Studey's granddaughter.
"I am so proud of her," said McGowan. "She has a lot of drive and willpower. We are at the end the road, and who knows? Maybe she'll go for her Masters."
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)