THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 8, 1996 TAG: 9609080040
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY KEFFER, CAMPUS CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 60 lines
Nancy Lindgren, the student activities director at Old Dominion University, will leave her position Nov. 1 to try a new career that will give her more time with her family. She wants to become an elementary school teacher.
She knows her salary will probably go down, but for her it's worth the financial sacrifice.
``I think it's very easy for people to let their jobs take over their lives, and then their jobs become their No. 1 priority,'' said Lindgren, who's in her late 30s, as she puts it. ``And if that's what they want, then that's fine.
``But for my husband and myself, our children and our time together . . . are No. 1, and so we decided to make sure that it stays in the proper order.''
Lindgren lives in Virginia Beach with her husband, Richard, the director of conferences at the Ramada Plaza Resort Oceanfront, and their two daughters - Rebecca, who will soon be 5, and Allison, who is 3 1/2. Lindgren has been director of student activities at Old Dominion for nine years.
In the past year, Lindgren said, her two daughters have begun in-line skating and learning how to swim and ride bikes. She would rather pursue those activities with her kids than hear about them from a day-care provider.
``I don't want to have baby-sitters raising my children,'' she said.
Next fall, Lindgren hopes to get a teaching job and start courses at ODU leading to a master's degree in elementary education.
Asked about similarities between working with college students and elementary school students, she paused, then said cautiously: ``A variety of personalities; working with a very diverse population would certainly carry over.'' The 200 campus groups she works with range from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws to the College Republicans.
She helped organize the appearances of such stars as the comedian Sinbad at ODU.
``It took many years for me to convince my supervisors that having concerts in the Fieldhouse was a good idea,'' she said.
One of the biggest hits was George Carlin's show there in 1991. ``It was a sell-out event,'' she recalled, but it took its toll. The night before, she was at the university till 2 a.m., handling last-minute details. And she was eight months pregnant. ``It made me realize yet again that this is not the job for me if I'm going to have children.''
Lindgren added, ``I will miss the students and the staff, but it's also very exciting because I'm starting a new career.''
Of her future job, she said, ``Not everybody's going to excel at math or science, but part of the challenge is to make them feel excited about coming to school.''
She will be among a growing number of adult women who return to college. Women above the age of 29 accounted for 17 percent of ODU's enrollment last year, said Julie Dodd, director of ODU's Women's Center.
Lindgren said some students have suggested that she become active in campus life, but she says, ``I don't need to be here attending the things I have planned out.''
In the next year, she plans to volunteer and substitute-teach in Virginia Beach elementary schools. ``There's no certainty in today's job market,'' Lindgren said. ``I'm hoping to make myself as marketable as I can be.''
But most of all, she'll be with her family. ``Raising children takes so much time if you do it right,'' Lindgren said with a smile. ``And we want to do it right.'' by CNB