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The biggest regret
that Larry Wilbanks has about delaying his educational career
has nothing to do with the classroom.
The 37-year-old Chatsworth native, who has worked in industry
for about two decades, says his biggest regret is the “barrier”
that sometimes developed between him and co-workers who resented
the fact that he rose to middle and upper management positions
without a college degree.
“I always wanted to earn a college degree for the sake of
personal achievement,” says Wilbanks, who left a position at
Clayton Miller Hospitality Carpets this summer to come to school
full time.
“I worked hard, and I never considered myself to be uneducated,
but in the business world, I often found that people who had a
degree resented the fact that I was in supervisory positions but
didn’t have one.
“Not having a degree presented challenges at times, especially
early in my career before I had proven myself. I found that I
had to work a whole lot harder than those who already had one.
“I would stress to students who are right out of high school the
importance of earning at least a two-year degree before they
enter the workforce. Many companies won’t look at you no matter
how capable you are if you don’t have a degree.” |
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The fact that he did not
have a degree was not by original design, says Wilbanks, who
graduated third in his Murray County High School class in 1989
and who had initially accepted a full scholarship to
Jacksonville State University in Alabama.
But as for many young people, his “best laid plans” changed
after he spent his first week at JSU on a band scholarship and
quickly realized that his heart wasn’t in it.
“I pushed myself hard academically in high school, and when I
got to Jack State, it dawned on me that being in school wasn’t
what I wanted to do at that point in life.”
So Wilbanks returned to Chatsworth, moved in with his parents,
found a job, got married and became a dad.
“At the time, I really wanted to be in the ‘real world,’” he
recalls.
For him, the real world began at an auto parts store, followed
by a stint as a cabinet builder. He became a creeler at Sunrise
Carpets in 1991, and became a supervisor for the manufacturer
less than one year later.
From then on, Wilbanks has worked in positions of management for
Sunrise, Fortune Contract Carpets, and Clayton Miller
Hospitality Carpets, among others.
His desire to earn a college degree never wavered, however.
“During all this time, I knew that I would one day come back to
school to continue my academic pursuits. In the meanwhile, I
read extensively. Unfortunately, with the jobs I had I was
pretty much on call 24/7. So I knew I couldn’t devote myself
totally to my school work.”
His opportunity arrived in 2008 after his daughter Summer Marie
Wilbanks Cole graduated from high school.
“I was ready to make a change, and I knew that I would
eventually like to live in Atlanta, where most of my friends
life. So I decided to re-enroll in college and pursue a degree
in business.”
As a new student, Wilbanks is ahead in credit hours because he
has passed several classes by exam through the College-Level
Examination Program (CLEP) exams. He currently juggles a 12-hour
course load and expects to earn a Bachelor of Business
Administration in Accounting degree in 2010.
“I’m a numbers guy; I love working with numbers,” says Wilbanks,
who says he definitely wants to work for an accounting firm in
the future after completing his bachelor’s, earning a master’s
in the field, and passing the Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
exam.
He admits that he has what many students these days don’t have:
the luxury of not having to work for a living while working on
his degree.
“I am completely dedicated to college and nothing else. It’s
interesting because for 18 years, I got up at the crack of dawn
and set out to work. Now I take four classes that meet two days
a week and I manage my studies on the off days. I have almost a
stress-free environment compared to that of the work world.”
His hard work is paying off, as Wilbanks has either “tested out”
of certain required academic courses through his CLEP exams or
has earned “A’s” in courses taken on campus.
And as a non-traditional student, Wilbanks finds that he
appreciates being in school more than he thinks he would had he
gone right out of high school.
“Dalton State has some really great teachers. Being here has
made me realize that I might even want to teach accounting to
college students one day.
“I’m not ruling anything out. For now, I’m just going to enjoy
the ride.”
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