甜瓜视频app

 Commencement      April 27, 2022

Lynda Farren has been a successful entrepreneur her entire life, the last 20 or so years as owner of Farren Property Management in Hayesville.

So why would the successful business owner return to college at 甜瓜视频app to complete her bachelor鈥檚 degree in innovation leadership and entrepreneurship?

鈥淚鈥檝e been an entrepreneur my whole life,鈥� said Farren, who at 73, is believed to be one of the university鈥檚 oldest undergraduates. 鈥淚 finally figured I needed a piece of paper to prove that I knew what I was doing.鈥�

Well, that鈥檚 not the real reason Farren returned to school. But it did check off an item on her bucket list. The opportunity presented itself after her husband passed away five years ago.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have anything to do except run my company, which doesn鈥檛 take very much energy,鈥� Farren said. 鈥淚 was bored and I said, 鈥楬ey, I can do this now.鈥� It鈥檚 something I鈥檝e wanted to do for a long time. And then I have to figure out what I鈥檓 going to do when I grow up.鈥�

Farren鈥檚 entrepreneurial spirit began when she was a fifth or sixth grader. One summer, she was sitting in a childhood friend鈥檚 kitchen. The two were bored, so her friend鈥檚 mother suggested they start a daycare.

鈥淩emember, this was 50 years ago,鈥� Farren said. 鈥淵ou couldn鈥檛 get away with that now.鈥�

At the time, Farren was already babysitting. They went and talked to all of the mothers she was babysitting for and charged them 25 cents a kid to watch them for three hours.

鈥淲e made a fortune,鈥� Farren said. 鈥淎nd we did it on Tuesdays and Thursdays because we didn鈥檛 want to screw up our summer vacation. We went to their house and brought all of the kids to my backyard. We colored. We played games. And the mothers had three hours of free time.鈥�

Farren lived in several places growing up. After graduating from high school in St. Louis, she attended Stratford College in Danville, Virginia, but didn鈥檛 finish. She worked a few jobs, we fired twice, which quickly opened her eyes.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 work well with others because they鈥檙e not doing it the right way,鈥� Farren said. 鈥淚 learned I needed to be the boss.鈥�

In the back of her mind, she knew she wanted to return to school someday and complete her degree. Initially, she applied to WCU and NC State. Both turned her down. The schools wanted to see a copy of the catalog of the classes she had taken. Not only did she not have a copy, but Stratford College had closed in 1975.

Farren ended up getting a copy of the catalog from the Historical Society in Danville, Virginia, but by then, Larry Hammer, WCU鈥檚 registrar, had already informed her that she was accepted.

Returning to the classroom wasn鈥檛 the hard part for Farren. It was the technology that comes with today鈥檚 learning, such as learning how to use Blackboard, and now Canvas, WCU鈥檚 learning management system for students.

One of the things Farren enjoyed most at WCU was getting her younger classmates to have discussions.

鈥淚 would say something silly to make them laugh,鈥� Farren said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not afraid to speak out because I don鈥檛 care what they think, whereas they do care what everybody thinks. I鈥檝e enjoyed trying to get them involved in whatever the class is. You鈥檝e got to learn something from each class. If you can walk away having learned one thing, it was worth it.鈥�

Despite the age difference, Farren did her best to fit in. She even successfully joined a sorority.

鈥淚 did the rush,鈥� Farren said. 鈥淚 got accepted into one of them. But I decided not to go that route. The texting actually was driving me nuts. Twenty-four hours a day. I went. I did it. I tried it.鈥�

Her biggest surprise, however, was seeing how many people have been proud of her accomplishment.

鈥淭here was a lady that was cleaning one of the rooms in Forsyth (Building) and I was sitting in a room waiting to go into a class,鈥� Farren said. 鈥淥f course, she thought I was a teacher. It鈥檚 amazing what I can get away with around here. People don鈥檛 question teachers. Anyway, she and I started talking she said, 鈥業鈥檓 really proud of you.鈥� I said, 鈥榊ou can do this as well.鈥� I didn鈥檛 expect that from so many different people. It鈥檚 a nice little reward.鈥�

Farren will have 25 friends and family members on hand to watch her cross the stage in the Ramsey Regional Activity Center to receiver her degree. From there, she plans to complete a children鈥檚 book that she has written for her grandchildren as Christmas presents.

And Farren plans to be a fan enthusiast and follow the Great Race, a race of pre-World War II cars that will travel on backroads from Warwick, Rhode Island to Fargo, North Dakota.

鈥淎fter I do that, I鈥檒l figure out what I鈥檓 going to do when I grow up,鈥� Farren said.