Last Month I wrote a Thanks MOM blog to my mother for all she had done for me specifically in helping me in getting through college. Well now it is time to say THANKS to the dads out there.
My dad, like my mother, didn’t go to college. He started working in a factory right out of high school and worked there for 30 years. It was a good paying job but took a toll on him physically. He didn’t want the same life for me. Back when I was born in 1973, only 28% of the jobs required education beyond high school. But my dad could see times were changing even when I was in middle/high school. He didn’t say, “I didn’t need college to get a good job, so I am not paying for you to go.” No, he encouraged me to get good grades, explore the majors/career that I wanted and go to college. Right now, 65% of the jobs require education. Times have changed. THANK YOU DAD!
Another area my dad helped me with in college was with finances. I had mentioned in my THANKS MOM blog that one of the biggest sacrifices my mother made was going back to working full-time again to help me with my college expenses. My parents used the money that my mom earned to pay for my living expenses (room & board) so that I did not have to borrow money to pay those expenses. When I got out of college, my amount of student loan debt was only half, if not less of what it could have been because of that sacrifice.
It would not have been possible without my dad being on board with that decision. There are parents who will tell us in appointments and presentations that they don’t plan to help their kids pay for school. I am glad my parents didn’t think that way. They sacrificed vacations, new cars, new furniture, upgrades on the house to help me (and my sister) get through college without a big burden of debt. THANK YOU DAD!
The biggest impact my dad had on my life doesn’t have to do with college. Lou Holtz is famous for saying this, but I had heard it before him and it goes something like this: The greatest gift a Father can give to his children is to Love their mother. I can’t imagine anyone being a better example of this than my dad. It is an example that I hope my kids see today. THANK YOU DAD!
To all dads out there, I hope you have a wonderful Father’s Day this Sunday!
Erick - ICAN Ankeny Center
