When you're 46 years old and going back to school

I think I've mentioned here the fact that I always wanted a graduate degree but never got around to earning one. Against the advice of my dad, after I earned my B.A. from John Carroll University in May 1992, I got as far away from classrooms as I could. After nearly a year as a full-time sports journalist and a full-time student, I was burned out both mentally and physically.

I figured, "Why bother? I'm going to be a sports writer for the rest of my life."

Which of course did not happen, because long-term plans rarely work out the way you assume they will.

Over the course of time I came to the conclusion that I needed a "real" 9-to-5 job, and eventually I got into PR and marketing. It's a very rewarding career and one that has paid the bills for my family for several years now.

In the back of my mind, though, I feel I should have gotten that master's degree. I've come close to starting a few times, but the whole not-enough-hours-in-the-day syndrome has gotten in the way every time and I shut it down.

But not anymore. Beginning next week, I will officially return to the ranks of the matriculated as I begin online coursework toward that elusive advanced diploma. It's a mouthful to say, but I'll be pursuing a Master of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication with a concentration in Public Relations from Kent State University.

If people ask, I just say I'm going for "a master's in PR from Kent State."

As I said, it's an online program. The whole thing. Welcome to the 21st century.

As I understand it, each week the professor teaching whatever class I'm taking (I only have room in my schedule to take one class at a time) will post the material for that week and required reading online. Then, by Thursday I'll be expected to engage in some sort of virtual class discussion. Each week ends with a paper or other assignment due on Sunday.

Then the whole thing starts again on Monday.

Each course is seven weeks long, and I have to take 12 of them to earn the degree. With breaks and everything, that means I should get the master's in the spring of 2018.

IF everything goes as planned, of course, which as we've seen above very often doesn't happen.

But that's the idea.

I'm intrigued by this concept of asynchronous online learning. I don't have to "attend" class at any set time; rather, I can adapt the reading and other coursework to my family and work schedules. I won't be getting much sleep either way, of course, but the flexibility of the whole thing appealed to me.

Now let's see whether I actually learn anything. This will be an interesting experiment in teaching that old dog those new tricks.

My loyalty will always lie with John Carroll, but for the next couple of years I guess I get to be a Kent State Golden Flash, too. Which my daughter Chloe, a University of Akron student, will not like. Akron and Kent are fierce rivals.

In the real world, that is. In the virtual world, everyone gets along and sings Kumbaya.

At least that's what I'll tell Chloe.