Fresh out of high school, directionless but determined, Michele Simon dived into UL Lafayette’s nursing program.
Her intelligence and grit were undeniable as she maintained a 3.8 GPA and tutored her peers.
Yet, beneath the surface, Simon knew something wasn’t right. Burnt out and overwhelmed, she decided to step away from nursing after three years.
"I made straight A’s, so other nursing students would come to me for help,” she recalls. “But everything to me was just school, school, school. I had no balance.”
After a much-needed hiatus, she felt a strong pull to return to school. This time, she found a path that truly resonated with her: UL Lafayette’s online General Studies program.
Recognizing the Signs
Despite her initial successes as an on-campus student, the path Simon was on began to feel more like a burden than a calling.
“I’m glad I got the on-campus experience. I got to learn things about myself, like that I can learn really hard things and that I’m a good test taker,” she says. “But I knew just because I could be good at nursing, didn’t mean I should do it. I wasn’t enjoying it at all.”
The constant grind of school, combined with the growing sense of dissatisfaction, led her to a breaking point.
“I ended up getting to a really low point in my life where I was like ‘I need to get out of here, I need to take a break,’” she says. “That’s when I decided to step away.”
Simon knew that leaving nursing was more than a temporary break — it was a crucial step in reclaiming her sense of self.
And so, with only one year left in the program, Simon took a leap of faith and withdrew.
Life During the Hiatus
As Simon navigated her break from academia, life shifted in unexpected ways.
“Whenever I dropped out, I was very low. I lost myself, I really did,” she says. “Then my now-husband prayed over me and prayed with me. He invited me to church, and that’s when everything started to pick back up in my life.”
She married and began building a home, offering her a fresh sense of stability and purpose. As life settled down, the pull of UL Lafayette grew stronger.
“After things settled, God put it on my heart that it was time to go back," she says. “I didn’t know where I was going or how I was going to do it, but I knew that I really loved UL Lafayette and that if I can go through all that school with nursing and make good grades, I deserve to finish off with something.”
Deciding to re-enroll while moving into a new home posed challenges on its own, but the stakes became even greater when Simon found out their family would soon grow.
“I had just found out I was pregnant, then our house was finished being built so we were also moving at that point,” she recalls. “But I was still like ‘I want to do it, I don’t care. I’m ready to get my degree.’"
Answering the Call
Re-enrolling at UL Lafayette as an online student opened a world of possibilities for Simon.
With a new child, house, and mindset, she dove headfirst into her studies. This time, instead of a rigid program-specific curriculum, she explored an exciting mix of courses through the customizable General Studies program.
“I got to pick the classes myself and it was so interesting because I didn’t just do nursing courses,” she says. “I got to learn about criminal justice and economics; I even took a kinesiology class. That stuff really interests me.”
One class in particular resonated with Simon during her studies.
“Psych 255 helped me understand every developmental stage that humans go through,” she says. “So the class was interesting to me because it went over the infancy stage and guidance on the how and why of things at that age.”
And with an infant at home, Simon found immediate relevance in her coursework.
The flexibility of the online program was a game-changer for her. Whether she was squeezing in study time at work or finishing assignments at the ballpark, her laptop became her constant companion.
“I was able to bring my laptop to work, and if I had 15-20 minutes, I would continue to work on my essays,” she says. “I even went to a baseball game with my husband, and he had his hotspot, and I did a whole assignment there. He just made sure that the balls didn’t hit me in the head!”
Juggling school, work, and family life was a challenge, but Simon knew exactly how to tackle it. She tapped into every resource available, from tutoring to the library’s online databases, and kept herself organized with meticulous planning.
“It’s so important that you use all of these free resources you have access to. I would always use UL Lafayette’s online library and they’d help me with essays,” she says. "I also made sure I had all my assignments, essays, and exams written down and highlighted each class a different color."
As her confidence grew, so did her ambitions. With her bachelor’s degree in hand, Simon is eager to continue pushing her limits.
“I’m really taking this time to spend time with my daughter,” she says. “But I do want to go back for my master’s because I really enjoyed school, and even more online. I just want to show myself what I can do.”
Reflecting on her challenges and achievements over the years, Simon credits her faith for carrying her through.
"I would not be where I’m at today if it wasn’t for God. I just have to give Him all the praise and glory," she says. "I was at a very low point, but God sent me my husband, and we’ve just been going up from there."
Ready to take the next step? Learn more about the online general studies program at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.