• Non-traditional college students are students older than their 20s.
• According to some of Marquette's non-traditional college students, even though the transition back into the classroom atmosphere can initially be shocking, they feel the educational experience will prove to be worthwhile.
• Some traditional college students feel it is a benefit to have a non-traditional student in their classes because older students usually contribute a great deal to class discussions and the overall learning experience in the classroom.

The traditional morning routine for many students goes something like this: you wake up, hit the snooze button, wake up again five to seven minutes later (repeat as necessary), roll out of bed, maybe take a shower, lace up the old Uncle Chucks, grab a pack of Pop-Tarts and throw on the cleanest-looking warm clothes in sight.

On weekday mornings after this routine is completed, Wisconsin Avenue is flooded with a stampede of drowsy-eyed college students. Most of them are in their late teens or early 20s, and they walk to class from their dorms or nearby apartment buildings.

Tina Erdmann, a junior in the College of Professional Studies, is one Marquette student who is an exception to this morning routine.

That's because Erdmann is a 39-year-old, non-traditional college student.

Along with being married and holding down a full-time job as a project designer for the Harley-Davidson Motor Company in Wauwatosa, Erdmann is also enrolled full-time at Marquette.

Erdmann, who lives about a half-hour away from campus in Germantown, is taking four classes for a total of 12 credits this semester. She attends two of her classes at night and two during the day on her lunch break from work.

Erdmann earned an associate's degree in mechanical design technology from Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton about 20 years ago. Today, Erdmann is working toward a bachelor's degree in journalism here at Marquette.

"Working and going to school full-time is very, very time consuming," Erdmann said, "but I think it will be well worth it when I'm done."

Although Erdmann has the support of her husband, whom she said has been helpful with domestic chores, she said she still has to push herself to keep up with all of her obligations.

"It's all about time management. I really have to plan ahead in the week if I want to find enough time for working, studying and being with my family," Erdmann said.

Many of the evening classes offered in the College of Professional Studies are made up of working adults like herself. In the daytime, she's one of a handful of adult students on campus.

Now that she is in her second year at Marquette, Erdmann said she's grown accustomed to being a student in classrooms full of others nearly half her age.

"At first it was kind of strange. I felt like I stood out. Now I'm kind of getting used to it," Erdmann said.

Erdmann said there are also some benefits to being a non-traditional college student.

"I have a different way of looking at things than most of the younger students have because I've lived on my own for the past 20 years," Erdmann said.

This maturity allows her to bring a different perspective to classroom discussions, and she said it also allows her to better appreciate everything she is learning.

"I'm taking my education much more seriously now than I did in technical college 20 years ago," Erdmann said.

At 53, Gregory Bolter is a non-traditional Marquette student who is taking a more leisurely approach to his education than Erdmann.

Bolter's wife Patricia works for Marquette full-time as a project coordinator in the math department, and Gregory is a mail clerk for Mail Services, so the university allows him to take six credits every semester for free.

"This is my seventh semester at Marquette, and I've been taking one class for each semester," said Bolter, a junior English major in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Bolter said when he first started taking courses, it was "a bit of a culture shock" to be in a classroom full of 20-year-olds. But like Erdmann, he said his life experiences can add a lot of value to class discussions.

Bolter said all of the classes he has taken so far have been English and creative writing courses. Even though he said he knows the chances are slim, he would like to use his education to write a book or a novel in the future.

Erdmann has a short-term goal of moving into the communications department at Harley-Davidson. She said her "life-long dream goal" is to become a photojournalist for a travel or adventure magazine.

"I love to travel, take pictures and hear people's stories," Erdmann said. "Becoming a photojournalist would be a great way I could put all of that together."

Ben Skubic, a traditional 19-year-old sophomore in the College of Communication, said he enjoys it when there is a non-traditional student in one of his classes because the person usually sets the tone for class participation and always contributes during discussion sections.

"I learn best from listening to others," said Skubic, who currently shares one of his classes with a non-traditional college student. "Aside from professors and TAs, older students bring the most useful information and questions to class every day, so I appreciate it when I have them in any of my classes."