SAN MARCOS – In two weeks, Cathy Atwood and her youngest son, Andrew, will don caps and gowns to receive their diplomas at Cal State San Marcos' commencement ceremony at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

Although they made it to the finish line at the same time, the mother and son took different routes to earn their degrees.

Cathy, 59, a mother of three who has a full-time job, took her first college class 10 years ago. She moved ahead steadily, enrolling in one or two courses each semester.

Andrew, 23, who worked part time, took a full course load and attended classes during the day.

Their paths didn't cross often on campus. They didn't sit in the same classroom or bump into each at the library. But they found plenty of ways to support each other.

Cathy Atwood knew the ropes of financial aid, student loans and class registration years before Andrew set foot on campus. He tutored her when college algebra became overwhelming for her.

Was he a patient teacher?

“Yes, until I asked him to explain something to me for the fifth time,” Atwood said with a laugh.

Atwood, a graduate of Thousand Oaks High School, began working at 18, first in retail and later as a waitress. Both of her parents had died, and going to college was not an option.

“I had to pay the bills and support myself,” she said.

She married and had three children. She worked nights so she could be with her young sons during the day. When they started school, Atwood signed up for her first college class – art appreciation at Oxnard College.

“I was scared to death,” she said. “My knees were knocking.”

Over time, schoolwork became easier as she learned how to study, take tests and manage her time.

“I found there were lots of hours between midnight and morning,” she said. “I learned to turn off the TV.”

Atwood earned her associate degree in liberal studies from Bakersfield College. By the time she entered Cal State San Marcos in 2000, she was working full time as a customer service assistant at State Farm Insurance. She was able to find night and Saturday classes that fit her schedule.

As an older student, she was one of the few who could relate to classroom discussions of events such as the oil embargo of the 1970s.

“When the professor talked about how people with odd-and even-numbered license plates had to buy gas on different days, I was the only one who had experienced it firsthand,” she said.

Since completing her course work in December, Atwood has found it difficult to stay away from the classroom. She has enrolled in a literature class at Palomar College and is reading Ibsen, Shakespeare and Virginia Woolf. Next, she plans to take classes in creative writing to get ahead at work.

“Now that I have a degree, I want to apply for a promotion,” she said.

Andrew enrolled in college right after graduating from Rancho Bernardo High School.

One of his group projects in the College of Business was to prepare a plan for a new company. His group chose a driving range.

“We had to take into account everything,” he said. “We had to prepare spreadsheets and forecast how much we expected to make.”

Andrew said the university prepared him for the real world.

“I would say one of the most important things I got out of college was how to conduct myself,” he said.

He has already taken the next step in mapping his future: He's enrolled in the MBA program at San Diego State University.

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Triveni Sheshadri: (760) 752-6757; triveni.sheshadri@tlnews.net