Lindsay Turpen

Lindsay Turpen

Class of 2018

Major/Degree: Bachelor of Liberal Studies, Intercultural Communication

Prior to becoming a full-time college student, Lindsay was a "do it all and more" mom – managing a full-time job, raising a special needs child, and attending school part time. While working for the Kelley Institute for International Business, she was awarded a Cox Access Scholarship. This program, which helps nontraditional students complete an undergraduate degree, allowed Lindsay to flip two of her roles and become a full-time student/part-time employee.

Becoming part of the IU community

Lindsay recognizes the vast array of events and opportunities happening at any given moment on campus, though she has not been able to get as involved in activities as she would like. Nevertheless, she says, "I love IU Bloomington. There’s something very nostalgic and romantic about this campus. I get pretty sentimental sometimes because my dad and both of his brothers went to school here, too." Sometimes it does feel strange, she adds. "I don’t have many of the same cultural references as traditional undergraduate students." However, she finds she does have more in common with many of her instructors, who, Lindsay has discovered, often have children of their own, and are themselves closer to her in age and life experience.

Balancing school and other responsibilities

All students have complex lives, and work to fulfill multiple roles and responsibilities, often both on and off campus. In fact, managing time and energy is a skill unto itself! Nontraditional students often must also "step back, to some extent, from their regular life" outside of academics, says Lindsay. In her case, she has embraced the challenge of fulfilling her responsibilities to academics, her special needs son, the Cox Access Scholars Program, and her own health challenges.

"It’s a constant challenge," but, with help from her own mother and others in her life, Lindsay has made it work. At the same time, she is glad not to feel the social pressures of being a traditional undergraduate, and grateful to have a good understanding of her career path.

"I feel like I enjoy the learning so much more than when I was younger!"

Some advice, in Lindsay's own words

"Despite many challenges, I have come to believe that returning to complete my degree was one of the best decisions I could have made. It is a mountain to climb, no doubt, but beneath it all is an undercurrent of being in the right place in time. I want to teach my son that through education – first our own, and then by sharing it with others – even one person can effect change in the world. This is why I am fighting so passionately to complete my education. I want to be one of the 'caring few' that world-renowned anthropologist Margaret Mead was referring to when she said, 'Never doubt that a few caring people can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.'"

Center for Students in Transition

Lindsay Turpen

Becoming part of the IU community

Balancing school and other responsibilities

Some advice, in Lindsay's own words

Around campus

Favorite place to study

Favorite campus eatery

Favorite IU tradition