It's a Learning Curve

Author: Edie Belitza, Academic Coach at Anderson Scholar House

After completing my Bachelor's degree, I took a self-imposed decade-plus break from academia. It was my father who finally coaxed me back to school for my Master's. I distinctly remember agreeing on a degree path and then immediately telling him, "I'm going to need help getting a computer." After all, I had typed my undergraduate papers on a manual typewriter! While I might be dating myself, the point still stands.

At Heartland, I work with scholars returning to school long after graduating high school or taking a prolonged hiatus. My story isn't so different from theirs—except our scholars often navigate this journey without family support. They need updated laptops, guidance through the maze of the FAFSA, and step-by-step assistance with enrollment.

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When you've been out of the educational system for years, everything is a learning curve.

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Finding the Path & Building Confidence

The curve starts with simply choosing a major. Just like I hesitated years ago, many of our scholars struggle to pinpoint the right path. Sometimes the challenge is deciding what they want to do; other times, it's building the self-confidence to believe they can achieve their dreams. Higher education can be confusing, presenting barriers at every turn. From finding funds to request old transcripts, to balancing non-traditional student schedules with work and family, to deciding how many credits to take without burning out, the system presents constant hurdles.

When I went back to school, I worked full-time while raising a child with a significant disability. Our scholars face similar challenge. They are single parents who have spent years in "survival mode." Asking for what they need from college advisors or pushing back when a course schedule isn't realistic takes immense self-confidence.

Learning to Self-Advocate

Navigating accommodations is another critical hurdle, especially when transitioning from K–12 to higher education. In grade school, parents and teachers manage support systems, but in college, the name of the game is self-management.

I recently worked with a scholar who had received special education services in high school, but because her mother had managed those meetings years prior, she knew very little about her actual records. After years out of school, tracking down her high school IEP meant leaving voicemails, sending emails, and visiting the school board office in person. Naturally, the process made her feel anxious and ill-equipped.

To help reduce that anxiety, we wrote out scripts to practice before she made calls or walked into the board office. She showed incredible persistence—refusing to give up until she successfully retrieved her records. Transitioning from quiet uncertainty to active self-advocacy is a major curve, but seeing her realize she could advocate for herself was a game-changer.

Conquering the Tech Gap

The technological learning curve is its own hurdle. Entering college means navigating digital textbooks, online portals, and academic writing. For this same scholar, writing essays and using computers caused deep anxiety. Rather than avoiding it, she chose to push herself this summer by submitting two scholarship applications to sharpen her digital skills—completing one at the college's tutoring center to get comfortable accessing campus resources early.

Even so, bureaucratic roadblocks can test anyone's resolve. When trying to secure physical copies of her textbooks through accommodations, she ran into a wall of broken links, absent contacts, and administrative errors. Frustrated and overwhelmed by the prospect of writing another formal email to resolve it, she nearly gave up.

That was the moment we introduced a new tool: AI speech-to-text. Instead of stressing over writing, she was able to simply talk through her thoughts out loud, letting AI draft the formal email while she guided the edits. Watching her realize she could dictate her thoughts and retain control over her voice palpably lifted her anxiety. Assessing unique learning styles and finding modern tools that augment a scholar's natural intelligence builds lasting confidence.

Flattening the Curve

Balancing work, parenthood, and classes requires organization on a whole new level. But here is the magic of the process: the curve doesn't stay steep forever. With that first successful grade, a difficult project mastered, or an administrative barrier overcome, the learning curve begins to flatten. Dreams turn into next steps, and in the process, the future of our scholars, and their children, is changed forever.