MOTHER AND SON

Caren Wharton left ECU to go to work. A special education major with a minor in psychology, she was offered a management position with a Fortune 500 company and took the job, intending to both work and continue school.

“To be the manager I wanted to be,” she said, “school went on the back burner.”

Caren Wharton’s return to ECU means she’s working on her degree alongside her son, Nate. (Contributed photo)

Then came the arrival of her first child, and family became her first priority. She raised four sons as a stay-at-home mom, then returned to the workplace as a teacher assistant.

“I always had a dream of finishing my degree, I just never knew when the right time would be,” she said.

Now, with her oldest son in the U.S. Army and two in high school, she said the time felt right.

“The boys are pretty independent at this point, so it allows for me to be focused on school when needed,” she said.

It didn’t hurt that Nathan, her second eldest son, had applied and enrolled at ECU.

Wharton, who lives in Four Oaks, plans to complete a Bachelor of Science in university studies and a minor in psychology in 2020, after which she’d like to pursue a master’s degree or licensure in counseling.

“Partway Home has been a blessing to me!” she said. “All of my credits were kept and put toward my degree. It has made it so easy to jump back into things and has made my dream of finishing my degree a reality.”

Wharton said being in college with her son has been helpful and has generated some friendly competition. He helped her get accustomed to online classes, which weren’t around when she started college the first time.

“I told Nate that I would be able to finish college before him,” she said. “He has challenged me. He truly helped me get excited and motivated to pursue the opportunity.”

For his part, Nathan is studying architectural design and plans to graduate in 2022.

“Partway Home is my absolute joy and passion, and being able to help and advocate for these students and see them realize a long-term dream that they had given up on or set aside for many different reasons is why I love this role,” Guidry said.