Working for an Education

Back in Denver, I found work at the American Crystal Sugar Company, first in the mailroom and then in other responsibilities. George and I entered the University of Denver under unusual circumstances because the Australian Leaving Certificate did not resemble an American high school diploma. On paper, we were treated almost like foreign students in our own country.^[1]

We lived at home and worked to pay tuition. The arrangement required long days, but it allowed us to move through university without the student debt that later became common. Money was not theoretical. Every course represented hours already worked or hours that still had to be worked.^[2]

I spent time at Brigham Young University and became involved in student activity with more enthusiasm than financial restraint. That experience, including overspending connected to an event, taught me that energy did not excuse poor stewardship. I returned to Denver with a clearer sense of responsibility.^[3]

My education did not proceed along a single elegant line. It changed institutions, subjects, and ambitions. Yet the work itself accumulated. The habits required to keep a job, study, meet obligations, and begin again became as valuable as any one credential.^[4]