What makes someone an adult student? For Centrice Martin, it was when her daughter, Mavalynn, was born. According to Penn State policy, adult students are those age 24 or older or who are considered independent and have at least one child to support.
So what makes an adult student outstanding? Just take a look at Martin's undergraduate career and it is easy to understand why she was awarded the 2009 Outstanding Adult Student Award.
Without a computer or the Internet at home for her first three years of college, Martin struggled to balance school and her personal obligations.
"Yes, Penn State has a vast amount of resources for its students, but if an individual has other obligations and restraints as I did, then it makes it very difficult to stay at Pollock lab or any other location until midnight to do work," she said.
An agribusiness management major, she labored to find a babysitter during class times and to find the time to utilize the campus resources. She began coming to campus at 8 a.m. to work in the labs after dropping her daughter off at school. Because she could not afford a computer during most of her college career, Martin would go to the labs before, between and after classes until she had to pick up her daughter at 5:30 from daycare.
She found a way to make it work, plus some. Martin is an involved parent who has assisted cheerleading coaches and coached T-ball. On campus, she was a recruiter's assistant in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology and a student presenter for incoming freshman at the University's First-Year Testing, Consulting, and Advising Program and at Spend a Summer Day for the College of Agricultural Sciences.
"As a presenter, I was able to give a little something back to Penn State by sharing my experiences and inspiring the incoming freshmen," said Martin.
As an adult student and a parent, Martin has a different perspective on college.
"I feel that I had a little bit more patience and tried to be more open minded and understanding," she said.
She also noted that being financially independent with a daughter to support made her value the cost of an education and stay focused.
"I was more aware of the consequences if I did not pass or do well in my classes."
Martin is now a graduate student in the College of Agricultural Sciences, pursuing a master's degree in youth and family education.