Jody Farley started college in the early 1980s, but life had other plans. Marriage and children delayed her graduation by a quarter-century.

Farley began at BYU out of high school, but she soon transferred to marry a medical student at the U. Later, she had two children and started working to support the family. Like so many other young moms in college, she dropped out at 22.

But she never took her eyes off the prize. With two of her four children graduates of the U., she returned to campus two years ago and loved it.

"It was really rejuvenating," Farley said. "There is such an energy about learning and being around the kids. It was much easier. People don't trust the skills they have gained. You forget you can learn."