Back to School at 60: How Willis College Helped Me Earn a Diploma With Honours

What started as research for a story and ended with a graduation diploma with Honours in a program I wouldn’t have even considered, had it not been for the person on the other end of my query.

Let me back up a bit. Last summer, I interviewed a man about addiction recovery and discovered he’d gone back to school at Willis College. Not long after, I interviewed a young woman about her heart transplant and learned she, too, was enrolled there. That caught my attention.

I went to the Willis College website and submitted a query about cybersecurity. Soon after, the phone rang. A student services representative suggested, based on my background in journalism, that the Executive Business Administration program would be a better fit for me.

At 60, I wasn’t sure anything would fit. It had been decades since I’d taken a post-secondary class, and certainly not online. I laughed and said I couldn’t afford it. He said there were grants and loans I could look into.

That changed everything. With the help of a job coach at my local OnTrac office, I submitted a last-minute application. A few weeks later, I was in.

Then reality hit: how was I going to do this? After more than 30 years in journalism, editing, and freelancing, I was about to flip the switch and explore the business side of life.

The program delivered. From soft skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to building websites, developing marketing plans, and diving into accounting with QuickBooks and Sage, it was practical and fast-paced. The instructors made the difference. If I had questions, and I always had questions, they were a click away. Office hours, quick responses, and encouragement helped me keep moving.

Balancing school deadlines with freelance work was no small task. There were late nights, tight turnarounds, and moments of doubt. There were some tears! (Read: My journals don’t balance!) But every assignment is tied directly to the real world. It didn’t feel like theory; it felt like filling a toolbox I could carry into the next chapter of my career.

The highlight was my practicum project. I built a strategic growth plan for a local news outlet. Today, that plan is influencing real decisions about digital strategy, marketing, community engagement, and revenue. Seeing coursework translate into action has been the most rewarding part.

Since graduation, I’ve launched my own business. I’m now a media consultant. The structure, strategy, and tools I gained at Willis College made that possible. (I’m still building things, but it’s coming along!)

What did I learn about myself? That discipline and focus don’t disappear with age. I can do hard things. Life experience made me more resilient. I also learned the value of asking for help when I needed it.

Graduating with Honours at 60 proved that learning is lifelong, and I’m already considering what certifications might come next.

For anyone hesitating to return to school later in life, my advice is simple: don’t wait. Online learning fits around your life and gives you more than knowledge. It gives you confidence, and that carries into everything you do.