HomeCurrent Press Releases > For Suffolk, Va. Couple, Marriage Improves by Degrees
For Suffolk, Va. Couple, Marriage Improves by Degrees
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For Suffolk, Va. Couple, Marriage Improves by Degrees
Michelle & Gregory Tompkins Complete Their Degrees, Amid Raising Family and Serving Country SUFFOLK, VA(October 5, 2009) —After 25 years of marriage, Michelle Tompkins will blissfully approve of the outfit her husband, Gregory, chooses to wear on Oct. 10. The robe, mortarboard and tassel will easily pass her inspection.It should. She will be wearing the same thing.
Amid child-rearing, household responsibilities and serving in the U.S. Navy, the Tompkins have been pursuing their college degrees on and off together for 20 years. Their journey toward finishing their undergraduate degrees concludes on Saturday, Oct. 10, when they each receive their bachelor’s degrees during Thomas Edison State College’s 37th Annual Commencement in Trenton, N.J.
“I am a lifetime learner, but have always wanted to accomplish a goal that was elusive to other members of my family – obtaining a college degree,” noted Michelle, who retired from active duty status and now works as a systems analyst with the U.S. Navy. “Being a 48-year old wife of an ex-Navy man and a mother of two college-age children has made my life very dynamic.”
She used the college’s Prior Learning Assessment program, Thomas Edison State College courses and transfer credits to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology.
Her husband is quick to credit the college’s flexibility in being able to maintain the tempo of a busy life and earning his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree.
“Since I was assigned to rotating shifts during most of my 12-year Navy enlistment, college courses were few and far between,” he said. “Later, I took many classes at a local community college as well as at National University, but, unfortunately, neither had delivery methods that worked for me as I was required to travel extensively in my job.”
The Tompkins met when both were ocean systems technicians stationed overseas during the Cold War.
As parents, Gregory and Michelle and their determination to complete their degrees, served as good examples for their two children. Their daughter, Genevieve, is a 2008 graduate of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., and their son, Garrett, is a junior at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va. Today, the Tompkins work remotely for the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in San Diego, Calif.
They will be joining 375 graduates from 26 states and Saudi Arabia who are planning to travel to the Trenton to accept their diplomas at the Thomas Edison State College’s 37th Annual Commencement ceremony, which begins at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 at the War Memorial in Trenton, N.J. The college will award more than 2,500 degrees in 2009 and has awarded more than 34,000 degrees since it began providing flexible, high-quality, collegiate learning opportunities for self directed adults in 1972.
About Thomas Edison State College
Thomas Edison State College provides flexible, high-quality, collegiate learning opportunities for self-directed adults. One of New Jersey’s 12 senior public institutions of higher education, the College offers 17 associate, baccalaureate and master’s degrees in more than 100 areas of study. Students earn degrees through a wide variety of rigorous and high-quality academic methods that can be customized to meet their individual needs. Identified by Forbes magazine as one of the top 20 colleges and universities in the nation in the use of technology to create learning opportunities for adults, Thomas Edison State College is a national leader in the assessment of adult learning and a pioneer in the use of educational technologies. The College is home to The John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy. The New Jersey State Library is an affiliate of Thomas Edison State College. Further information about admission to the College may be obtained by calling (888) 442-8372, via e-mail at info@tesc.edu or by visiting the College Web site at www.tesc.edu.
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