Single Mom Makes The Grade
If Northwesterners tipped better, Pat Wheeler might not have a diploma and a gold honor cord.
Paltry tips, rotten hours and fussy customers drove Pat to North Idaho College six years ago. She was 34, her four daughters were in elementary school and her marriage was shaky. But Pat knew what she had to do.
“I was going nowhere,” she says. “I wanted my own business.”
Serendipity landed her that first semester in tough science classes that awakened an aptitude she didn’t know she had. Life threw everything at her that year - bewildering classes, part-time work, family demands, money and marriage troubles. But she didn’t falter.
“I was exhausted all the time. I always felt I didn’t have enough time,” she says. “And chemistry was so hard, but I loved it.”
Pat committed that year to earning a bachelor’s degree.
The divorce hit her second year at NIC. She tried to soothe her girls and focus on school, but she occasionally parked her car in a quiet spot for a cry. She dropped organic chemistry.
Pat decided to teach that year.
“I’d been a school aide, PTA president and vice president,” she says. “I took an education class and was hooked.”
NIC steered her to Gonzaga University. Tuition didn’t accelerate her heart for a moment. She was an expert with a tight budget. She borrowed for school and depended on food stamps and thrift stores to feed and clothe her family.
She learned to start her car manually with a socket wrench until she could afford to fix its broken flywheel. She tacked a shower curtain over the rotten wall in her Rathdrum home. She sewed and gave up cable television.
It all paid off last Sunday when Pat collected her bachelor’s degree and special education endorsement from Gonzaga as her daughters applauded. She has no doubts that a job is waiting for her.
“Just when I’d want to quit, someone would say, ‘You’re an inspiration,’ so I’d have to keep going,” she says, her laugh full of the energy that drives her. “This is exactly where I need to be. I don’t regret any of it.”
East meets West
If you can’t afford a trip to Taiwan this summer, don’t sweat it. Cultural Homestay International is bringing Taiwan to Coeur d’Alene.
Thirty teenage Taiwanese girls will arrive June 26 for two weeks. They’ll need families to adopt them for the short stay and show some American hospitality.
The exchange program will keep the kids busy all day, but they’ll need beds, food, transportation and friendly conversation the rest of the time.
If you want a little cultural variety this summer, call Dale Mason at 765-1726 for details.
Eternal questions
Just because you’ve grown up and haven’t sat in a classroom in 20 years doesn’t mean you can’t. Give in to those signals from your brain that it needs exercise and don’t start small.
Sign up for the University of Idaho’s “Literature of the Holocaust” summer class that’s available in Coeur d’Alene in June and Sandpoint in July.
The four, four-hour classes are open to the general public and promise discussions on some weighty topics. Teacher Bill Proser doesn’t back away from any subject - just ask his students at Lake City High. Treat your mind this summer. Call 667-2588 to register.
Helping hands
If you haven’t signed up to help Coeur d’Alene’s Kiwanis Club pound together the Disneyland-like playground in City Park this weekend, just stop by. Someone will find work for you. The fun’s already started.
What projects have pulled your community together? Boast about them to Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene, ID, 83814; fax to 765-7149; call 765-7128; or e-mail to cynthiat@spokesman.com.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo