Remember how hard it was being in college? There were long nights, strict professors, impossible projects, endless exams, and all of the other challenges that you had to face in the name of education. Now imagine doing that all over again, only without quitting your current job.

Seem impossible? Not for the handful of UC Davis re-entry students who are also career path university employees. Re-entry students are defined as undergraduates older than 25 and graduate students beyond 30. UC Davis has about 4,000 re-entry students at the undergraduate and graduate levels — and a few of them work fulltime on campus. Unlike most students, they face the challenges of balancing classes, families and full-time jobs.

Take Karen Faithorn, for example. At 49, she completed a bachelor's degree in human development while working full time at the Cowell Student Health Center, taking an internship at Birch Lane Elementary School and being mom to her son.

"It was hard juggling everything," she said, "work, class and my son. There were a lot of hoops to jump through."

John Robinson, a programmer for Human Resources who recently completed his bachelor's degree in philosophy at Davis, agreed.

"Balancing was very difficult, especially during midterm," he said.

During such busy periods, Robinson was forced to abandon some of life's simple pleasures, such as a full night's sleep. "There wasn't a whole lot of sleep during that time."

What possesses these UC Davis employees to give up sleep and family time when they already have jobs?

For some like Nancy Nicolos, a newly promoted manager at the Health Sciences Libraries, completing her degree rejuvenated her career.

"My previous employer was supportive of my going back to school only if I majored in business administration," she said.

But, after deciding that business administration was not for her, Nicolos made a decision. She would leave her decent-paying job and pass on its tuition reimbursement benefits to return to college and pursue a degree in medieval studies. Soon thereafter she got her job on campus, and now is balancing both work and class.

Like Nicolos, most re-entry students are in a state of transition. Thankfully, they have Shirley Sperry and the entire Re-entry Student Services to help them through the difficulties.

A former Davis re-entry student herself, Sperry's mission as coordinator of the Re-entry Student Services is to provide these students with the kinds of services she wished she had as an undergraduate eight years ago.

"I look back and think, 'How did I ever get by without these services?'"

Having volunteered for many years with Re-entry Student Services, she has watched their little space in South Hall grow.

"When I was a student, there was one alumnus who ran a weekly support group and a part-time student assistant who planned Re-entry Day," Sperry said. "Now we have computer labs, a lounge and someone who is always here for personal and academic advice."

Re-entry Student Services sends out a weekly newsletter that promotes a variety of social events, like potlucks and parties. There is even a re-entry student club to help connect students facing similar challenges at school, work and home.

Having such a large support system is an absolute necessity, Sperry said.

"If I hadn't had my support group, I don't know if I could have made it," she said.

Faithorn said that having the constant support of re-entry services was helpful in learning to deal with her unique challenges.

"The re-entry center was great. I could just go in and flop down on the couch and vent about how stressed I was."

Though stress-free moments are rare for typical college students, re-entry students arguably have it worse. Holding both a full-time job and taking two or three classes is not easy. Many students also have difficulty finding classes that both fit into their work schedule and satisfy their majors' requirements.

Sperry and Faithorn have worked hard to fight against the "mom role" that they often fell into during group work. One time during a class editing exercise, Sperry said, a student refused to critique Sperry's essay, saying it was "like telling my mother she did something wrong."

Despite these challenges, they say, working at the university helps to make the experience easier. Nicolos said that her employers at the library were "more understanding about finals and midterms" and were willing to work around her school schedule. Robinson echoed this, saying that his boss, Michele Platten, was "awesome," allowing him to come in very early in the morning before his classes and leave later at night once his classes were finished for the day.

Robinson also found that being immersed in the university's administrative side helped him navigate the resources on the student side.

"Having close communication with other staffers made it very easy to approach people who work in other departments," he said. "I always knew who to ask and what to ask."

Interestingly, many re-entry staffers remain in their university jobs after graduating. Faithorn is considering pursuing her master's in public policy, but is reluctant to give up her position at the health center.

"I like my job," she said. "It's going to be a difficult choice."

Appreciating the flexibility

Robinson, who is now working on his law degree at Lincoln Law School in Sacramento, has aspirations to work as an attorney for the university once he passes the California Bar Exam. He appreciates the flexibility and quality of life that UC Davis has allowed him, and suggests that "people get a job somewhere else and then come to Davis so they can fully appreciate the flexibility."

Being a re-entry student can be an overwhelming experience, Nicolos said, but it is ultimately rewarding.

"It's easier now to be a student than at 18 or 20," Nicolos said. "You're more focused, more mature and you know what you want."

Having waited several years for their college experiences, re-entry students are often more determined and goal oriented than the average 18-year-old student. School for them is not just a good experience — it is a second chance.

The first re-entry students at Davis were predominantly veterans returning from World War II, but since then women have made up a larger proportion of the re-entry student population. However, a new national trend shows more men returning to colleges and universities, according to the Re-entry Student Services Web site.

Though it was a difficult and time-consuming venture, Robinson is thankful to be a part of the UC Davis community as both an employee and a staffer.

"I had to make a lot of sacrifices," he said. "Generally my experience has been really great. It afforded me an opportunity I wouldn't have otherwise had."

Sperry advises re-entry students to keep two key things in mind while pursuing their studies — get involved and have fun. College is about experiences, she said, and learning to appreciate those experiences is more valuable than anything learned in the classroom.

"You will not remember five years from now what you learned in one particular class," she said. "But you will remember the people you met and things you did … those will stay with you."

For additional information on re-entry students at UC Davis, see re-entry.ucdavis.edu.

Allison Leung is a student intern for Dateline.