Lesley Weidenbener: My college degrees have served me well, which makes me worry about anti-college sentiment

I am a proud two-time graduate of Ball State University. I earned a bachelor’s in journalism in 1991 and a master’s in executive development for public service in 2016. The experiences earning the degrees (more than the degrees themselves) have been incredibly valuable to my career and my life overall.

And so I’ve found myself increasingly uncomfortable in conversations about the value of a college education and whether young people should skip college and instead opt for some other kind of training or credential. Most of those conversations seem to be among people who have at least one and sometimes multiple degrees — and who, as far as I can tell, have benefited from those degrees.

I’m no expert. And I love the trades and the great-paying jobs they create. My husband, who has an associate’s degree in aviation maintenance and additional training in HVAC-R (that R stands for refrigeration, and he reminds me that matters!) has had a fantastic career and has out-earned many college-educated professionals.

But I’m still worried about the larger message about college.

I was raised to go to college — that’s the way it worked in my generation. I went back to school while I was working at Franklin College and was advised that I’d need at least a master’s degree to advance there.

I left Franklin for IBJ in 2015, but I’m glad I finished the degree. No one in my world today cares that I have it — sometimes I forget I do. But I haven’t forgotten much of what I learned — a lot about leadership, creativity, research and teaching adults.

Could I have become a journalist without going to college? Probably. The most valuable training in writing and reporting that most journalists receive is through internships and in student media. But my years attending Ball State taught me so much more than how to write, report or edit a story — and that knowledge and those experiences have been just as important to my career as the basics.

I say this as someone who went to school at a time when college wasn’t prohibitively expensive. I had a good scholarship for my undergraduate schooling, and my parents were able to pay the bulk of the expenses that remained. I did not take out loans. I know how lucky I am.

My master’s degree was surprisingly inexpensive — less than $12,000 all in.

College degrees are not so affordable today, of course. Student debt is at stifling levels. Too many students go to college without knowing what they want to study or do when they graduate. And too often, it takes them too long to graduate — if they graduate at all.

That’s why this discussion is so important. On May 19, IBJ will host our annual Education Power Breakfast, where the value of a college education will be a topic. We’re finalizing the speakers now, but I’m already looking forward to the debate.

Join us if you are also struggling with how to think about what the next generations need to achieve. Go to IBJ.com/events to learn more.•

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Weidenbener is editor and assistant publisher of IBJ and The Indiana Lawyer. Email her at [email protected].