{"id":1883,"date":"2012-11-01T15:40:22","date_gmt":"2012-11-01T15:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/?p=1883"},"modified":"2016-02-16T21:26:21","modified_gmt":"2016-02-16T21:26:21","slug":"sharon-wade-08","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/2012\/11\/01\/sharon-wade-08\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharon Wade ’08"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sharron<\/a>When Sharon Wade \u201908 went back to school in 2000 through the Augsburg Weekend and Evening College, she took steps to balance her schedule so that she could meet the requirements of full-time employment, fulfill the commitments she made to her family, and supply the effort vital to success in her coursework.<\/p>\n

Wade knew returning to the classroom could change family dynamics and routines at home. \u201cMy family was always my first priority,\u201d Wade said. \u201cI took college classes after high school and during my first few years of marriage. Back then, I decided to stop going to school and have my children. So\u201420-plus years later\u2014I wanted to earn the degree I originally had started.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wade said she sought to \u201cfulfill that dream\u201d when the timing felt right for her husband and children. \u201cIt\u2019s a big commitment,\u201d she said. \u201cWe talked about it, and I had support from everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wade was familiar with the Augsburg adult undergraduate program because she serves the College as a nursing programs coordinator. She said being a student while working for the College was \u201ca perfect fit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI could work during the day and then take classes during the evening.\u201d she recalled. \u201cI tried not to have to come to campus seven days a week, but I did have terms where I had both Saturday and Sunday classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The skill Wade demonstrated for fusing \u2018college with career\u2019 resounded with her children. \u201cShe\u2019s always been a good role model,\u201d said Laura (Wade) Machacek \u201904, her eldest daughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing my mom\u2019s passion for her place of employment while she was going to school made a huge impact on me,\u201d Wade\u2019s youngest daughter, Tracy (Wade) Christianson \u201908, added. \u201cI didn\u2019t know what \u2018vocation\u2019 meant, but I could feel it in her work. I could tell that she felt heard, felt she was contributing to the College, and felt appreciated. I knew I needed a degree to get into a workplace where I could feel that same way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Machacek and Christianson enrolled in Augsburg\u2019s traditional undergraduate program after finishing high school, and the sisters found they followed Wade\u2019s example by dedicating themselves to work and to school.<\/p>\n

Machacek admitted her schedule was somewhat over-ambitious for her role as a traditional student. \u201cI worked full-time hours,\u201d she said. \u201cOne year I claimed six different businesses on my tax return while going to school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christianson recalled a different unique experience from her college days. She and her mother enrolled in not only the same course but the same class section. They found it enjoyable to sit next to one another in lectures, but the course posed an additional challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were always competitive about our grades in that class,\u201d Christianson said. \u201cShe ended up beating me by just a tiny bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA small amount,\u201d Wade agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cA very, very small amount,\u201d Christianson amended.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s apparent that their competition was playful, and all three women fondly recall their Augsburg education because of its impact on their lives and their family.<\/p>\n

Christianson took a music appreciation class with her brother, Jeff Wade, who also enrolled at Augsburg. Christianson said the course incorporated on-site visits to performance venues and prompted her and her brother to see concerts together\u2014something they never would have done without the influence of Augsburg.<\/p>\n

The College\u2019s commitment to hands-on learning, community involvement, and intentional diversity mirrored the family\u2019s values. Sharon Wade said she enjoyed taking classes with students of varying backgrounds and ages. \u201cA lot of the time I was the oldest person in the class,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was fun to hear opinions of the younger students and to share my perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Christianson said she was influenced by her experiences during City Service Day\u2014an annual event when incoming first-year and transfer students participate in service projects in the neighborhoods that surround Augsburg\u2019s Minneapolis campus. \u201cYou\u2019ve never even been in an Augsburg classroom, and you\u2019re already volunteering in the community,\u201d she said. \u201cSchool isn\u2019t just about getting the diploma. That\u2019s obviously the end goal, but you\u2019re becoming a different person\u2014a better person.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen my mom in her position here since \u201999, and it\u2019s been such a positive thing in her life,\u201d Christianson continued. \u201cShe\u2019s grown in so many different ways and Augsburg\u2026seems like a natural place for us to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2009, Christianson began working at the College and now serves as an administrative assistant in the Office of Student Affairs.<\/p>\n

The three women are hopeful that their family will have an Auggie in its next generation. Machacek said her daughter\u2014who is still in diapers\u2014wears Augsburg clothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re pruning her,\u201d Machacek added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Sharon Wade \u201908 went back to school in 2000 through the Augsburg Weekend and Evening College, she took steps to balance her schedule so that she could meet the requirements of full-time employment, fulfill the commitments she made to her family, and supply the effort vital to success in her coursework. Wade knew returning <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":6383,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[54],"class_list":["post-1883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-stories","tag-fall-2012"],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1883"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6533,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1883\/revisions\/6533"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/now\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}