BC3 student, mother of 6, receives int'l organization scholarship
Butler County Community College student Vanessa Eberle is not one to give up.
“It's pretty crazy. I applied not thinking I stood a chance,” said Eberle, 35, a Butler resident. “On a whim, it was worth putting in a little effort.”
The mother of six was the statewide recipient of a $500 “Finish What I Started” scholarship from the Phi Theta Kappa's Middle States Region, an international academic organization. The essay she submitted in October was part of the state's fourth Pennsylvania Community College Completion Challenge Week.
The scholarship is recognition of his wife's hard work, said Ethan Eberle, 40,
“It's good to see her turn something in the past into a strong point,” Eberle said.
In her essay, Vanessa Eberle wrote about her experience when she dropped out of college after three semesters at
BC3 after she graduated from Butler Senior High School in 2001.“I didn't really have a clear vision or direction,” she said. “I was just doing it because you get out of high school and that's what you're supposed to do: go to college.”Seventeen years later, Eberle re-enrolled in BC3 with a newfound drive to earn a psychology associate degree.“I wanted to show them that an education is worth it, and it's not too late even if you finish later on,” she said about teaching her children. “I wanted to set that example of it's important and doing homework is worth your time.”Eberle also said she wanted to be prepared if anything happened to her husband because she would be responsible for providing for her family,When Ethan Eberle lost his job two years ago, he decided to get his college education, Vanessa Eberle said, adding she decided to follow suit.“The goal is to graduate with as little debt as possible,” she said. “If I go to school now while he's in school and everything's taken care of, then when he's going for higher degree then I will be able to, while kids are in school, go to work ... and avoid substantial debt.”A typical day runs from 5:45 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. for Eberle, which includes getting Victor, 14; Naomi, 13; Caleb, 10; Phebe, 9; Ruby, 5; and Zipporah, 3, ready for the day, dropping off and picking up her school-age children, attending class at BC3, late-night homework sessions and picking up and dropping off her husband from work,Ethan Eberle takes classes alongside his wife.“When she decided to go back, boom! She's just gotten basically all As since,” he said. “It helps our relationship because when you're working together and doing something together ... you become closer as a couple.”The two share books and are each other's study buddy, Vanessa Eberle said.The fall and summer semesters before May's graduation, Vanessa mapped her courses to completion.“It was a weird feeling of looking at this,” she said. “This is possible, this could happen, something that seemed so out of reach for so long.”Eberle plans to go into play therapy or horticulture therapy, where children with behavioral issues can work in a garden setting rather than office, she said.Husband and wife plan to graduate in May, which Vanessa Eberle said would be an incredible, surreal moment.“I started back in 2001 and finally get to do that,” she said. “My husband will be at my side, that will be awesome to do with my best friend there.”Butler Intermediate High School ninth-grader Victor Eberle is proud of his mother.“It's awesome to see,” said Victor. “She came back and was willing to finish what she started.”Victor said he has seen his mother doing homework into the evening beside him, which is an example of her hard work.The lesson Victor said he learned from his mother: “It's never to late to pick it up and finish it. You can come back.”The drive to make it to graduation are the thoughts of the people who motivate her, Eberle said.“Knowing people are rooting for me makes a huge difference, knowing there's people who want me to succeed and willing to help me set aside the time and help me work on things,” she said.Eberle's advice to others who are going back to college is to look for programs and reach out for help.“Go ask people and look around for the scholarship and available programs that there are,” she said. “There are so many people and so many programs that want you to succeed and put in place to help you.”
