Meet Quest Maker Jane Gifun
Quest Makers are women in their 40s and beyond who've declared
"now it's my time," and then set off on their own journeys to realize their dreams. Every month a Quest Maker is featured in the FREE e-newsletter, Your Next Quest Chronicles. Click here to enjoy archived issues.
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Quest Maker Jane Gifun
From a high shool passion
to a richly rewarding new direction
I learned of Jane Gifun on the front page of the regional section in The Boston Globe in July 2008. The article featured several women inspired by longtime passions to enter college and/or embark on new careers just when many women in their 50s and 60s were thinking of retirement. I clipped and saved the article because Jane inspired me.
So much has happened to Jane since she started attending college part-time. In May 2011, she will graduate with an early childhood degree. Since the article appeared she has "retired" to a new career working full time with special needs children, a passion of hers since her high school.
At what point in your life did you decide to embark on your quest to work with special needs children?
When I was in high school, I volunteered with special needs kids and thought at some point I am going to work with them.
The year I turned 60, I decided it was time to finally work with special needs children again. Financially it would be a big reduction in pay, however if I kept putting off the decision, I would be 90 years old and still saying SOMEDAY.
Before then, my career was in interior design. At one time, I was an interior designer in the hospitality industry designing restaurants and hotels. I managed a $6M dept. for 7-8 years. When the company was sold, my department was disbanded and I then became a salesperson for a national commercial carpet mill. My territory was Maine and N.H. My clients were school systems, big businesses and design and architecture firms. During that time I got married and found that being road and being married were incompatible. Because I had a deep background in carpeting, I became a saleperson in a retail carpet store. However, when I realized I wasn’t learning anything new, I moved into the tile industry and did a lot of design work for about 12 years.
I had been volunteering with special needs children for two days a month at the Professional Center for Child Development in Andover, Mass. When I left the tile industry, the Professional Center had a part time job opening so I started working there two full days week as a classroom aide. I also was working in a day care center for three-five days a week, depending on how much they needed me. To work in the day care center, though, I needed to take a class for a state certification. I decided to enroll in the Early Education Program at Northern Essex Community College. I have been going to school part-time and working more or less full time for the past three years.
Looking back, what's one thing you wish you had known as you set off on your journey?
I wouldn’t do anything differently. I really love what I am doing now. I don’t think I was ready to do this when I was younger. Financially, it has been a huge pay cut. Ten years earlier I was learning about tile and I hadn’t done everything I wanted to in the design field. Psychologically, I wasn’t ready for semi retirement at 50.
What is the one essential quality that you'd tell women to pack for their own path?
It’s very, very important for women to know themselves and what they really want to do. I am doing what really makes me amazingly happy. Yet we women often think we are doing something for ourselves when we are doing it for someone else. I have known women who think their dream is to buy old houses, renovate them and then sell them. Really they’re doing it because their spouses want to do it and they’re being good soldiers. It’s really not in their hearts because it’s not their own dream.
Can you describe how you dealt with any obstacles on your adventure?
Going back to school was a huge time commitment. Both my husband and I used to work in Boston and we would often go out to dinner on the way home. I also loved to entertain. Now we hardly ever go out to dinner, partly because he still works in Boston and I work in Andover. Plus he is finishing up his Ph.D., so we both are very busy. We don’t entertain as much as I would like, but that will change when I finish school next year.
I hadn’t gone to college before. Northern Essex Community College offers a program called Transition to College. I was delighted to be accepted into it in the fall of 2007. The semester long class prepares students for entering college. It was an incredibly interesting class, a mix of people of different ages, economic backgrounds and cultures. For some students, English was not their first language. Many of the students were young people who recently had earned their GED. There were also some students in their mid-40s who were in dead-end jobs and then there were a few people my age. We all just clicked. We still get together, too.
The course met two nights a week from 6:30 -9:00pm and on Saturdays for a full semester. I learned how to manage my time, hone my writing and math skills, as well as how to deal with college life, such as speaking up to a professor if something was not clear. I have worked very hard in school and have all A’s. I know I wouldn’t be getting the marks I’m getting without the Transition program.
Before retiring, I would come home from work and sew or work in the garden when the weather was nice. Right now I don’t have the time. I realize that I am only going to be in school for a couple of years. Later I can go back to doing some of the things I used to
How did you make time for your dream?
I would work days and go to school nights and on Saturdays. I stayed focused, studying when I could find a few minutes, even though I was exhausted. One thing I have changed is that now I’m only taking two classes a semester instead of three, so I have a bit more time.
This winter I had the privilege to direct our school’s annual winter festival and it was fun to put some of my creative skills back to work. After this semester, I have one more class and a practicum. I will be through in May 2011. I plan to continue taking classes; it is so fantastic to be in school and learning new subjects.
What helped you stay on your quest’s path?
I think the fact that when I am with the children, it is so rewarding. Things we take for granted, like holding up our heads, takes a great deal of effort for these children. To see them do it is wonderful. When I am with them the world could burn down around me. I wouldn’t notice it, because I am watching a child working so hard. I feel so blessed to be able to work with amazing children, parents and staff. I think I am one of the luckiest people I know.
What's been the secret to reaching your goals?
No secret, simply planning on a number of fronts. First, financially, I began putting money aside to supplement my income, because I knew working with special needs children did not pay nearly as well as sales did. Second, I verified that working with these special children was truly what I wanted by volunteering two days per month at the school. Then I was lucky enough to eventually be hired there while I was still employed in the design field. Thirdly, my husband and I discussed the ramifications of our not being together as much because we had both worked in the Boston area and traveled to work together.
When I was younger I was always thinking "Where do I want to be next in my career?” Before becoming a manager I remember thinking, “Wow, I want to be the boss.” Except when you are the boss, there is always someone above pushing down and someone below pushing up. I love working with the children and being with them every day is what I want to be doing.
What's the best advice for your quest that you've ever received?
It came from my financial advisor. My husband and I asked her how my semi-retiring and going to school was going to affect our retirement. We have always lived frugally so she told us that we could afford for me to go for my dream. Her advice was to live off some savings and make some adjustments, without drastically changing our lifestyle. That was very good advice, and gave me peace of mind.
Is there a particular quote, a movie, a book or a person that has sustained you?
I think my mother was wonderful for pointing out the small things. She’d say, “You can’t always be at the fireworks.” She would pull over to the side of the road just to appreciate a field of flowers or a lovely fall tree. Being brought up to appreciate those small treasures in life helps me to appreciate the accomplishments of the children I work with more than if this was not in my upbringing.
Do you have a new quest around the corner?
I am not the type to fund raise or be political; however, it would be wonderful to be able to get the children more of the equipment that is available to help them communicate. Some of the new technology is amazing. What I am doing now, and knowing how happy I am, I think I will continue this work for many years to come.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
I am married to a marvelous husband and I have the support of family and friends, as well. He never complains when I make a big dinner on Sunday, so we can eat the same thing all week long. When I stay up late to finish a school project, or draft him to help fix a piece of equipment, he goes along. I can’t tell you how good it feels be doing what I felt I was always meant to be doing.
To contact Jane, click here to send her an email.
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