Barbara Rose
Beyond Nine to Five
The “Beyond Nine to Five” Program at Mount Wachusett Community College was created in 1981 and retired when its founder retired in the summer of 1999. One of the College counselors, Barbara Rose, began this innovative program in order to provide college re-entry services, totally free of charge, to women who were beginning to realize they needed to go back to school. This program quickly established itself at the college as it showed a significant impact on student development for a population that had a direct need for its offerings. The focus of the program was to offer a supportive environment to encourage women who had been out of the mainstream of academic or career endeavors to pursue their interests. The program served adult women of any age who were experiencing a period of transition in their lives. These women were in need of making changes in their lives but felt they lacked the support and the knowledge to begin the search.
Each spring, an average of 70 women (approximately 1,200 in total) gathered at the College for three weeks to participate. The program provided four major categories of experience:
- Academic skills assessment.
- Career interest assessment.
- Women’s support network - Small break-out groups.
- Lectures and skills workshops by women guest speakers - Nurses, Lawyers, Executives, Faculty members (all were non-traditional students, and most are graduates of the program).
It is estimated that between 400 and 600 women began attending college as a result of their participation in the program. While exact numbers of graduates are not available, it was a source of great joy to the program director, Barbara Rose, to cheer “her women” as they marched with their class at each commencement exercise year after year.
The “9 to 5” Program was part of the College’s Reentry Program for Women, and has been replaced by the reformatted “Crossroads” Program.
Submitted by Lee Cogswell.
Tributes:
None of what I have accomplished would have been possible without the support, encouragement, and guidance of a dozen wonderfully caring professionals I was lucky enough to encounter when I was contemplating major changes in my life after caring for my children most of my adult life. In particular, the “9 to 5” program was the most influential part of that orientation. I walked into the program knowing that, at 38, my life was just about over, and walked out of the program three short weeks later registered as a full time student for the coming fall, believing that I had unlimited possibilities.
Lee Cogswell, Director of Leominster Campus, Mount Wachusett Community College.
I first became aware of the Beyond Nine to Five Program
through an advertisement in the local newspaper. At
the time, my son was about to graduate from high school
and my daughter was to begin. My marriage was a very
sorry pretense, and my self-esteem was as low as it
could get. I remember calling the phone number and
not being able to complete a complete coherent sentence
because I felt so embarrassed to be considering starting
college at 39 years of age.
The voice of Barbara Rose asked: “You don’t know what you want to
be when you grow up, right?” I was so relieved to finally find someone
who understood that I signed up for the program immediately. The women I had
the privilege to meet in the program totally changed my life.
Many times, Barbara Rose said to us during the short three-week program: “Remember, you can’t ever have it all, but you can have more.” Those words taught me to set my goals high and to appreciate each and every accomplishment along the way.
Jean Chevalier, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Counselor.
The “Beyond Nine to Five” Program changed my life! As a result of my attending, I found the support and encouragement I needed to help me make a career change and return to college. I had the wonderful experience of meeting other women, who, like me, were experiencing a time of change. I made some great friends! I will be forever grateful to the program and to its Director, Barbara Rose.
Lori Kovach, “9 to 5” graduate.
The first word that comes to mind when I think about Barbara Rose, Director of the “Beyond Nine to Five” Program, is grace. She emits a sense of what is right and fair for women. She treats all women with dignity for who they are, where they are in their lives, while daring them to dream. Her program for women in transition was life changing for me. She encouraged me to dream, to believe in myself and to reach for the stars. It was this program that lit the spark in me to pursue my education. This was an important tool I could use to become all that I dreamed I could be. I will always be grateful to Barbara Rose for a program that supported me and encouraged me to reach further than I ever thought possible.
Donna R. Brown. “9 to 5” graduate, 1987.
MWCC College Trustee
Barbara Rose has virtually changed the lives of hundreds of women in Northern Worcester County through her creative efforts and sincere empathy of non-traditional students. She has effectively empowered the participants of “Beyond Nine to Five” in securing careers and higher educational opportunities they never dreamed possible. In the seven years that I supervised her in my capacity as Dean of Student Services, I witnessed the transformation of her clientele from the levels of low self-esteem to positive attitudes of “I can do it.” The “Beyond Nine to Five” program has given countless students faith in themselves, hope in the future, and love of learning.