Here's my final article for English 201 - Non Fiction Writing. 40% of my grade!  And yes, I got an A in the class. Susan Fullmer ENGL 201 Final Paper 4/27/2017 The Undoing of The Art of Authentic Conversation      The leadership researcher, and author, Margaret Wheatley, ED.D said, “Conversation is the natural way humans think together. When we listen well, and with less judgment, we move closer together.” I am fascinated with the human connection. I would go so far as to say that it is a life’s passion of mine. I have always been the peacemaker in a group; my responsibility and natural default is to make sure that everyone is playing nice in the sandbox. But not only that, I am a gatherer. I bring everyone to the sandbox in the first place. For example, I facilitate a drum circle where people of all varieties gather together. We drum yes, but more importantly--we talk and we listen. A real-life face to face conversation. It’s a beaut...

First day of school January 2015 Susan Fullmer ENGL 201 Sktech #4, The College Experience 3/16/2017 My Fundamental Transformation Concerning the Inner Self      Being 56 years old, and having returned to college after 33 years, I have been most interested in the subject of the older, non-traditional student.   When I first started back two years ago, I even started a blog to try and make sense of this most unusual event in my life.   Though I have seen older students on campus from time to time, I have rarely spoken to any of them.   Is my experience unique, or are we all going through a similar experience?   What I found surprising and discouraging, when initially looking for research on this subject, is that I didn’t find very much information.   The search words, “non-traditional student” brings up subjects such as, husband’s thoughts on supporting wives in school, students with disabilities, the needs of w...