The WINGS (Women Interested in Going to School) program has chosen to postpone its one-day conference from early September to March 3.
"For nine years, we've held it on the first Saturday after Labor Day, but this year, the program members agreed that we have compelling reasons to schedule it for March," said program co-chairwoman Patricia Lehman.
The conference - a cooperative venture between Clatsop Community College and the American Association of University Women - is geared toward women considering a college education, whether it's to pursue a GED, an associate's degree, a four-year degree or a change of careers.
"We decided to move it to March to help streamline it for students returning to school," said Rinda Johansen, program assistant of the Lives in Transition class at Clatsop. "We believe our students will have a higher success rate if they come in during spring term vs. coming in the fall against all the roadblocks they could face in the meantime."
It became clear to Lehman, Johansen and their colleagues last year that holding a September conference was a bit premature.
One of the conference's most important workshops teaches women how to fill out financial aid forms for fall term, which generally don't become available until Jan 1. If the program is held in September, participants must wait several months before putting into practice all they've learned about how to prepare for college.
But by holding it late winter term, the women can learn what to do and then immediately do it. In addition, the scholarships that Clatsop administers become available in April.
"Most of the women who participate have no experience with how to fill out financial aid forms or begin applying for grants and scholarships," Lehman said. "And by holding the conference in the spring, the women can have all of their financial support in place by September with no waiting around."
Additionally, "Lives in Transition," a college-sponsored six-credit class that participating women normally take one term after attending the conference, tends to be less crowded during spring term than during fall term. This allows faculty to devote more individual instruction time to students than would otherwise be the case.
"Clatsop has a number of very popular one-year programs, like nursing and medical assisting, that only begin in the fall, so if you're not prepared to start in September, you have to wait a full year," Lehman said.
Many of these programs are already full by the time fall term rolls around, so even if students were prepared to begin, they would likely be unable to begin the sequence, according to Johansen.
The decision to move the conference back six months was made by the program steering committee, which includes volunteers from the college and from the Astoria and Seaside branches of the American Association of University Women.
"Some people thought it would be disorienting, but the advantages far outweigh the drawbacks," Lehman said. "Even though the program is now in March, it's still going to be the exciting, informative experience it has always been and will live up to its great reputation."
Since its inception in 2002, the program has educated more than 400 women ages 17 through 80, with an average of 50 women per conference.
"It started as a community service project, and it has just continued," Lehman said. "We thought it would be a one-year affair, but now we're going for year number 10."
The conference consists of a full day in which women attend motivational lectures, learn how to navigate the college admissions process, apply for financial aid and scholarships, conquer their math anxiety and participate in other activities that strengthen their resolve to renew their education. They can begin taking the critical first steps on the paperwork pathway to a new life.
Workshops are conducted by college staff, motivational lectures are delivered by former WINGS attendees who share their own back-to-school experience and state Sen. Betsy Johnson is always one of the keynote speakers.
"A lot of women come in thinking, 'I'm not sure I can do this. I've got barriers in my life,'" Lehman said. "And when they hear the stories of women who have successfully overcome those barriers, women who had 3 1?2 strikes against them and succeeded anyway, they feel much more positive."
The barriers holding them back often involve their socioeconomic status and gender. But the biggest barrier, according to Lehman, is the "confidence" or "self-image" barrier.
"This is especially true for women who've worked minimum-wage jobs for many years and who became convinced they can't succeed at school," she said. "But nothing could be further from the truth."
The program offers a seminar focusing on nontraditional careers for women, such as welding and law enforcement.
And there's a coinciding half-day session designed for women interested in attending a four-year college and who already know how to apply for financial aid. A panel of representatives from cooperating universities - Eastern Oregon, Western Oregon, Portland State, Oregon State and Linfield - speak with them and answer questions.
Although most women in the program choose to enroll at Clatsop after the conference, the college offers distance-learning classes with the other universities.
"It's possible to attend two institutions concurrently, acquiring university credits through Clatsop, and then transfer those credits to a university," Lehman said. "Plus, it's cheaper that way."
Life-changing experience
Kelly Sorter, 41, of Seaside, attended the WINGS conference fall 2010, and said it changed her life.
"It was just an awesome experience," said Sorter, who waitressed for the last 10 years. "I have a 17-year-old and a 15-year-old who are halfway out the door, and I'm at that point where I want to do something better for myself."
Sorter, who enrolled in the business management program at Clatsop immediately after attending the conference, is half-way through completing her associate's degree.
"I met other women in their 30s and 40s who talked about their struggle to get into college and the sacrifices they had to make," she said. "It was very inspirational for me, and it gave me the strength to walk through those doors."
She plans to transfer to Portland State and pursue a career in the hospitality industry managing either a restaurant or a hotel.
"In the course of our nine years, we've had hundreds of participants, and we've given each one an evaluation form to fill out at the end of every conference," Lehman said. "On the box that asks, 'Would you recommend this class?' We've never had someone check 'no.'"
For the conference, free breakfast, lunch and professional child care is provided on site. Attendance is free, but participants must register beginning Feb. 1 by visiting www.wings-clatsop.edu or by calling (503) 717-1852.
