Had Amanda Norris not gotten her oil changed that day in the summer of 2014, the conversation and its ensuing revelations that led to her attending the University of Arkansas 鈥� Fort Smith might never have happened.
She had been waiting for her oil to get changed when she struck up a conversation with another patron. Their conversation turned to college, and how Norris, who was working a low-paying job that she saw as a dead-end, would love to go back to school.
鈥淲hy don鈥檛 you?鈥� the man asked.
Norris had plenty of reasons. She didn鈥檛 have the time, as a mother of two and a wife to a disabled husband, nor did she have the money. Not only that, but her grades in high school were lackluster.
鈥淚t just felt like a college education was such a huge thing out of my reach,鈥� she said.
The man told Norris that he was the chancellor at 妻友社区, Dr. Paul Beran, and that the university was looking for students just like her that didn鈥檛 realize college was a reality.
Beran explained away each of Norris鈥檚 reasons for why she didn鈥檛 think she could attend. She could take out student loans to pay for tuition not covered by scholarships and Pell Grants. Night and online classes were available to accommodate her busy schedule. And her high school grades didn鈥檛 matter as much as she thought they did.
Norris went home after getting her oil changed and thought about what Beran said while reflecting on her life.
鈥淚 just wasn鈥檛 happy with my situation. I was living paycheck to paycheck and not even doing a good job at that,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd that day when I came home and talked to my husband, and I鈥檓 like, 鈥楾his sounds so good, I want to check into this, what do you think?鈥� And he was all for it.鈥�
Norris enrolled that fall and majored in business with the hopes of one day working in human resources. While she was intimidated by the college environment, she found common ground with other non-traditional students in her courses and bonded with them.
She also benefited from professors who helped her along the way.
鈥淚鈥檝e not been to one class that I thought the faculty or the professor wasn鈥檛 there to help me. Every time I鈥檝e gotten an email or I鈥檝e emailed somebody, everybody has been willing to meet with me and help me,鈥� adding that the tutoring center in the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics was particularly helpful.
Returning to college opened up additional opportunities for her even before she completed her bachelor鈥檚.
鈥淏efore, people would look at my resume and say, 鈥極h, high school education,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淏ut as soon as I said I was pursuing my bachelor鈥檚 degree, they started asking me more about my college experience, which opened up my interviews and gave me more time with them to talk about myself.鈥�
Two years after starting school, Norris was hired as a secretary at Fort Smith Public Schools.
鈥淚 believe getting that job is all due to going back to college and trying to get my bachelor鈥檚 in business,鈥� she said.
Norris, who plans on graduating in 2020, reflects back on that conversation with Beran often, and how transformational it was in her life.
鈥淚 feel like I would鈥檝e been stuck at that same dead-end job, wanting something more but not knowing how to start,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 what makes me know that I probably would鈥檝e been at the same silly little job wanting more, but obviously not knowing what to do or where to get it.鈥�
鈥淵ou have to have that drive. You have to want it. And I knew I wanted it, and I wasn鈥檛 going to settle for anything less, because I knew I wanted to get a degree to make my family better,鈥� she said.
For more information about educational opportunities at 妻友社区, visit or call 479-788-7000.