Hello, my name is Vonkesha Brent, and I attend Millikin University majoring in Organizational Leadership. This is my senior year, and I will be graduating in December of 20121. I interviewed a fellow classmate of mines named Shonta Mckissic. I decided to interview Shonta because we face similar challenges will being a student in the flex program. The instructor that I interviewed is Keyria Rodgers. I decided to interview Keyria because I have known her since I was a kid. I ran into her at my first year at Millikin and had her as professor for a couple of classes.
Shonta is a mom just like me. She also finds it hard to balance being a mom, a student, and working full time. She feels like she does not give her kids enough attention because she’s doing homework in her free time. A lot of her time is spent focusing on her classes. She’s taking 15 credit hours this semester and spend at least 2 hours on each course to get her homework done. Shonta barely have time to relax or do fun things due to working and focusing on school. “My typical days of being in the program is frustrating!”
Professor Keyria Rodgers teaches many criminal justice classes at Millikin University in addition to her director roles. Professor Rodgers has many other obligations. She is the grant administrator for Macon County’s Adult Redeploy Illinois program, board member for the Juvenile Justice Initiative, founder of the Global Restorative Justice Partnership, and an independent consultant for grant writing and restorative justice training. In her free time, Keyria likes to play a variety of games and puzzles. She is also a business investor with many gaming companies which I think is cool. “It’s not just a hobby, it’s a part of life for me.”
Throughout the program it has been hard for me to focus. I am a single mother, full time student, and full-time worker. It has been extremely hard for me since the fall semester last year. My kids are attending school via virtual learning. It is hard trying to keep them and myself on track with our studies. Like Shonta, I feel bad at times because I have not had much time to spend with my kids. I explain to them that I am just busy right now. I try to take a day out of the week to spend quality time with my girls. I have not had much time to myself lately and it is well overdue. I am overwhelmed but I keep telling myself that it will be over soon. I am hoping things will get better for me to lift some weight off my shoulders because the load is just too much for one person. Despite the circumstances, I will make sure to push myself all the way through. My kids motivate me to be a better person all around. The long sleepless nights will pay off one day soon. I advise other OL students to not take on too much at one time. Also try not to get behind because it is hard to catch-up.