Competency program gives life to McCampbell's passion
Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494 |
Linda McCampbell is on a mission.
Spend 10 minutes with this energetic 56-year-old and you quickly know that she has a plan and is determined to see it through to completion.
She found a partner in Lipscomb’s College of Professional Studies and its competency-based education program to help her reach her life’s goals.
But to know where McCampbell is heading, you have to know where her story begins.
McCampbell came into this world ready to embrace life. Her mother went into labor earlier than expected while on a trip with her father to the Raleigh-Durham, N.C., area. She spent her formative years in Greensboro, N.C., where she enjoyed studying science in high school and dreamed about going to Duke University to pursue a nursing degree.
But after high school, McCampbell realized that college would not be an option for her at that time and that she would need to enter the work force instead.
“My father once told me to seek a career in either the area of law or funeral services,” McCampbell recalls. “He told me those two areas would never go out of business.”
So McCampbell rolled up her sleeves and studied to become a certified lab technician for Dairymen Inc. in order to earn money to attend paralegal school.
“I raised enough money from the lab job to attend a paralegal program, and I obtained a paralegal certification,” says McCampbell, who has called Nashville home since 1992. “And my dad was right! I have been a paralegal for 28 years — 21 of those with the same firm.”
But something else kept tugging at McCampbell’s heart.
“My true passion is to work with the fabulous over-45 population to help them be their best and to stay as healthy and independent for as long as they can,” she admits. “I want to slow down or reverse the aging process!”
During the nearly three decades that she served as a paralegal, McCampbell’s true vocational passion was never far from her mind. In her spare time over vacations and long summer weekends, McCampbell took steps toward making her dream a reality by earning certifications in personal training, yoga, Power Plate, nutrition and Pilates.
“I found that the only time I was truly happy was when I was able to help someone be better and to feel better about themselves,” says McCampbell, the mother of two adult children. “I decided at age 56 that I needed to put that plan into action. However, in order to walk away from the legal profession and to put my passion to work, I needed to become ‘bona fide.’ I knew I would need to get a degree.”
“I approached my husband with my idea and after praying about it, we applied to Lipscomb. Ready, set go!”
Enter Lipscomb’s CORE (Customized, Outcome-based, Relevant, Evaluation) assessment program. This was just the program McCampbell was looking for to help her pursue her heart’s desire.
“The CORE program made me take a good look at myself,” says McCampbell. “It furthered my confidence that I can do it. I do have the skills it takes to be successful. It has also made me take a step back and make some changes where needed. Bottom line, CORE made it possible for me to reach my goals faster and saved me money.”
Through Lipscomb University’s Competency Assessment and Development Center, CORE measures 15 competencies on a badge system. This competency-based assessment and development program evaluates attributes such as life and professional experiences, as well as personal and behavioral skills, for performance goals, programs and outcomes.
“It's a way for individuals to demonstrate competencies based on where they are in their careers, what they've accomplished and what they know,” says Nina Morel, interim dean of the College of Professional Studies at Lipscomb University. “Those wanting to earn a college degree can get a jump start on finishing that degree by earning up to 30 hours of credit based upon previous learning and professional experiences.”
CORE competency credits may then be applied toward a Bachelor of Professional Studies in Organizational Leadership degree or any other adult degree offering.
McCampbell earned 30 credits through the CORE assessment center. With those credits she is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in integrated studies with concentrations in aging and nutrition.
“Getting a college degree is truly an investment in my future,” says McCampbell, who is on target to graduate in May 2016. “It will be the key to opening doors that otherwise would have been locked. I would encourage others who have been thinking about finishing their degree to just go for it. Lipscomb has been great. I have told so many adults who are so close to finishing as well as some who have never been able to go to college to go talk to these amazing people in Lipscomb’s Adult Degree Program office.”
Although McCampbell is determined to finish this journey, she says she couldn’t have done it without Lipscomb’s CORE assessment program.
“I would describe the CORE program the way Michelangelo described sculpting. He said, ‘In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and in action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it so that other eyes than mine see it,’” she says.
“CORE did that for me,” McCampbell continues. “It took that hard exterior that had been applied layer after layer, year after year, and chipped it away to reveal what truly lay beneath. I am so grateful to Lipscomb for giving me this opportunity to stand back and take a look inside.”
For more information about Lipscomb University’s competency-based education program and CORE assessment center, click here.