Lynda Kendrick

You’re never too old to get an education and one Lehigh Acres woman is out to prove it and after she gets her final degree, she plans to go back to work.

Lynda Kendrick will celebrate her 71st birthday on Aug. 3 and four days later, she starts classes again to continue her education to get a bachelor of arts degree in Criminology.

“I hope in 2016 to be well on my way with my master’s degree in Counseling.

“I still have been unable to secure a scholarship or sponsorship for any of my education, which mainly is due to my age,” said Kendrick, who is also known to her friends as Pinki, because she likes to color her hair for the fun of it.

“It seems like they all want to give their scholarships to the younger students and not to a person in my age bracket. Yep, I will be 71 years old on Aug. 3 and that is not far away,” she laughed.

Kendrick said that in February of 2010, she enrolled at South University in Savannah, Ga., because the college had a tremendous online degree program with a special outreach to the disabled and abled students.

Kendrick has a history of suffering a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and other disability issues such as PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

“My school lined me up with a great disability counselor, Chad Jurica, who understood the different problems a disabled person might have, especially the ones I am going through and the many hurdles that an online student might have.

“Then they assigned me to the best academic counselor, Michele Molton, who during the past four years has not only guided me, but supported and encouraged me almost every step of the way.

“This has all been done by way of emails, the telephone and Skype. The faculty, staff and each of my professors have helped me during these past four years to strengthen my critical thinking, my determination to fulfill a dream and to achieve my goal, getting a good college education,” Kendrick said proudly.

Skype is a program people can use on their smart phones, tablets and computers to talk to one another and see each other. It’s available for free for those who want to communicate using this new technology.

Kendrick said she successfully completed her first degree a few weeks ago on June 28 with a 3.18 GPA with an Associates in Criminology degree.

She said she owes much of her success to her extended adopted family, Michale and Roxanne Raney of Cape Coral.

“They encouraged me along these past four years by helping to keep my printer running and always full of ink and paper,” she laughed.

“They have also made sure I was able to get to my doctors and my scheduled times, and provided care when I had carpel tunnel surgery, and I actually fell and broke my hip two and half years back, which I thought for two weeks was just a pulled groin muscle before giving in and going to the hospital,” she said.

On her way to the hospital, Kendrick had her laptop in her arms, she said, because daily assignments had to always be turned in by going online.

She also heaps a lot of credit to the First Christian Church of Lehigh Acres and all of its members. She said they have been her spiritual supporters in “this journey too, along with many friends from the Lehigh Acres American Legion Post 323,” which she proudly says she is a dual member.

Now what is a 70ish old woman going to do with all the degrees are handed to her?

“My plans? I want to work with the juvenile division within the sheriff’s or police departments or the Teen Court in some capacity dealing with our at-risk youth. I have applied for an internship with our local sheriff’s department, but both spring and fall internships are filled,” she said.

But she vows to continue to keep trying she says because “our youth of Lee County, and especially right here in Lehigh Acres do need more people to take an interest in them.”

“To let them know and be available for them, just to listen to them. To encourage them to stay in school – to mentor them by showing what the different paths that they might choose and the effect and consequences of their choice.

“Then it’s up to them,” she said.

Kendrick admits that it has been interesting in getting an education like this and at times, it has been somewhat rough.

She said South University is an accelerated university, where each course is only 5 1/2 weeks long.

But Kendrick, who always meets everyone with a smile, is determined and when she gets her master’s degree, you’ll find her doing something to help the younger people of our community.

“If I can get a great education like this, anyone can,” she said. “You just have to want it, and it was something I desperately wanted to do. I set my goals and I am meeting them.”