{"id":26819,"date":"2017-05-10T15:33:45","date_gmt":"2017-05-10T21:33:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=26819"},"modified":"2018-07-27T12:50:02","modified_gmt":"2018-07-27T18:50:02","slug":"uccs-communication-senior-to-graduate-after-four-tries-at-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=26819","title":{"rendered":"UCCS communication senior to graduate after four tries at college"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Jakob Komrofske and his mother, Katy Hartshorn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It took Katy Hartshorn more than 20 years and four attempts to earn her bachelor\u2019s degree, but she never doubted she would one day be a college graduate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always wanted to finish,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t start things and not finish, no matter how long they take.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hartshorn, 39, will graduate May 12 with a bachelor\u2019s degree in communication. \u00a0Watching her walk across the stage at Broadmoor World Arena will be her son, Jakob, 19, a sophomore at UCCS, along with her husband and stepchildren. Her stepdaughter, Lauren, 20, is a sophomore at the Boulder campus.<\/p>\n

Hartshorn started at UCCS in 1996 after graduating from Lewis-Palmer High School. She soon got married and gave birth to her son. Despite her best attempts to juggle motherhood, school and work, she was overwhelmed and left UCCS after two semesters.<\/p>\n

Hartshorn became a flight attendant in 1999 and worked in the airline industry for the next 10 years. It was a wonderful job that afforded her lots of flexibility as she raised her son, she said.<\/p>\n

In 2000, she tried UCCS again but withdrew. Two years later, she was back at UCCS. \u201cI was doing homework in the backs of airplanes and hotel rooms,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

But Hartshorn left UCCS again in 2004. She had made progress toward her degree, but parenting, work and school were again too much. Not long after, she left Frontier Airlines, having missed too many of her son\u2019s milestones, including his fifth birthday.<\/p>\n

In 2015, as her son started college, Hartshorn felt more driven than ever to finish her degree. Now remarried, she had the support she needed to return to school, and she wanted to set an example for their children. \u201cHe\u2019s made lots of sacrifices,\u201d Hartshorn said of her husband.<\/p>\n

The fourth time was the charm for Hartshorn.\u00a0 She made the President\u2019s List her first semester back. She was co-president of Lambda Pi Eta, a communication honor society, and a UCCS College of Letters, Arts and Sciences student ambassador. Her GPA is 3.8, a far cry from the 0.4 she earned in her first semester at UCCS.<\/p>\n

Hartshorn never wavered from wanting to earn a communication degree, and that\u2019s given her a long view of the program \u2013 including faculty members. In 2003, during her third stint at UCCS, Hartshorn enrolled in a Writing for the Media class taught by Laura Eurich. She was back in Eurich\u2019s classroom last semester for a public relations class, and Eurich is the faculty supervisor for Hartshorn\u2019s internship this semester. Hartshorn counts Eurich among her biggest supporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cUCCS has been part of my life, in one way or another, for the last 21 years,\u201d Hartshorn said. \u201cI am proud to be a part of this community. Having my son graduate from the same university makes it even more special to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other Commencement Features<\/strong><\/p>\n