'It saved my life': 50-year-old CU Boulder students set to graduate Thursday

May 7—Two years ago, Beth Amsel's life was completely uprooted.

Her husband of nearly 20 years asked for a divorce in April of 2022, and as a 50-year-old housewife, she suddenly had no income, no job and no home.

"I suddenly had absolutely no security in my future," Amsel said.

Within two weeks, she contacted the University of Colorado Boulder to be admitted as an undergraduate student in the history department. She started classes the following fall, earned a scholarship to cover most of her living expenses, visited the food pantry, battled depression and negotiated the divorce while in school.

Now, she's graduating from CU Boulder on Thursday with a degree and future she never would've imagined for herself.

"I am still astounded some days when I wake up and see where I am now compared to two years ago," Amsel said. "I'm still me, I'm still the person I was two years ago, but now I know I have the capacity to do anything. I can make a great life out of nothing more than my imagination, my tenacity and my drive."

Amsel was able to graduate in part due to support from the Finish What You Started program at CU Boulder. The program has graduated 52 undergraduates at CU Boulder since it was created in the spring of 2022, and that number is projected to exceed 80 students by the end of this summer.

The program provides scholarships, academic and career advising and academic coaching so that students have the help they need to finish their degree.

"When she returned to CU, Beth was undergoing a major transition in her personal life, had been away from higher education for several decades, and had concerns around managing her time effectively," Michelle Pagnani, lead program specialist and senior academic coach, said in an email.

"However, she knocked it out of the park in her classes, achieving a 4.0 every semester and ultimately being accepted into a graduate program in counseling at the University of Denver that begins this fall. Beth is an incredibly empathetic and affable person, a skilled researcher and writer, and someone who has overcome obstacles with both grit and grace."

Amsel had a career as a musician before marrying her husband and attended college for three years intermittently in the late '80s and early '90s. When the divorce happened, Amsel immediately knew she had to finish her degree to secure her future.

"From a purely practical standpoint, a woman at that age with no work history is looking at a future of financial insecurity and destitution," she said.

But, she said, her CU Boulder degree will do more than give her financial security. It also transformed her as a person.

"It saved my life," Amsel said, adding, "CU Boulder has had such a radically profound effect on my life. I was devastated at this time two years ago and frankly could not see a future for myself. And when I came to CU in the fall of 2022, I was still crying mostly all of every day."

After graduation, Amsel will move to Denver to pursue a master's degree at DU in counseling psychology and clinical mental health.

"There's a lot of shame involved in both the divorce and not having a college degree in certain circles," Amsel said, adding, "Shame is the thing that keeps us from being our full self. And fear and shame are so unnecessarily handicapping to what our potential is, and once we get beyond the shame and fear, there really is nothing we can't do in this life."

'A sense of that accomplishment'

At 50 years old, Marcos Castillo will graduate with a bachelor's degree in political science more than 25 years after he first started college.

"I just thought back then that I would eventually come back sooner or later to finish up and it didn't really work that way," he said.

Castillo took various classes at different schools in Colorado but work and money got in the way. He kept working and lived in Mexico for several years before returning to the United States and picking up school again. He always wanted to complete his degree but struggled to commit to it.

"Quite honestly, I just kept making excuses for myself," he said. "But more than anything (I wanted) just to get it done and get a sense of that accomplishment. I had already put so much work into it."

Castillo also wanted to finish his degree for his family.

"I would've been the first one to graduate from college, I just have one brother but he graduated before I did," Castillo said. "It's also for my parents as well, it was a sense of pride for them in my family. I think that's what really pushed me."

Castillo didn't receive any scholarships or grants until he joined the Finish What You Started Program, hindering his ability to finish college earlier. He also dealt with personal issues, including battling addiction, that also made finishing college difficult.

"Life was kind of scattered around and I didn't have much focus, so I think that was the biggest challenge," he said.

Once he committed to finishing his degree at CU Boulder, he only had two or three classes to complete. Castillo works for Catholic Charities of Denver and plans to continue his work there after graduation.

"It's one of those things that you accomplish that's a lifelong accomplishment and I think it'll be awesome," Castillo said. "It just hasn't really hit me yet, but I'm looking forward to it and I'm excited."

Ann Herrmann, program manager and advisor of the Finish What You Started Program, said many students in the program balance family, work and school and face financial barriers to achieving a college degree.

"These two students have inspired us in our work. They're the reason we do what we do," Herrmann said in an email. "To know that they both have plans to contribute to society and the world in their own unique ways (Marcos through Catholic Charities and Beth entering the counseling field) motivates us to continue to serve other CU Boulder students who need our support."