Jackie Carruthers first became acquainted with Indiana University when her daughter became a student on the Bloomington campus. Her daughter was on the track team, so Carruthers visited frequently and became very familiar with the campus and many IU faculty and staff members. She found the IU community to be warm, welcoming, and always willing to help.
Carruthers worked for Mercy Health Partners in Paducah, Kentucky, as a secretary. Nearly fluent in Spanish, she would often help the medical staff by interpreting for Hispanic patients. To become accredited as an interpreter, however, Carruthers needed a degree; and though she had taken many college courses over the years, she hadn't completed her studies. So, when the nuns of Mercy asked if she wanted to get a degree so that she could become accredited—and offered her scholarship money to boot —she jumped at the chance. In considering a university, Carruthers thought back to the place her daughter attended: Indiana University.
Carruthers decided to pursue her degree at a distance through the General Studies Degree program. The program allowed her to transfer in credits, and to complete the required course work on her own schedule. Distance education was a perfect fit — she could do her homework while working third shift and while traveling with her daughter to track meets.
Carruthers was impressed with IU’s course offerings and the instructors. Her Spanish professor was excellent; the course she took in folklore changed her life. Growing up, Carruthers spent many evenings under the trees with her siblings and cousins, listening to her grandmother tell ghost stories. Storytelling and supernatural tales were a big part of her life, and the folklore course helped her to develop skills in turning the stories she heard and recounted into writing.
Her professor for the course, Dr. David Gay, was impressed with the amount of writing Carruthers produced and mentioned how she’d written enough for a book. Writing a book sounded like a great idea to Carruthers, who compiled all her essays, asked a friend for help with the editing, and submitted her essays to American Publishing. The book, Folkloric Supernatural Tales Volume 1, became available online in June 2007. “Dr. Gay is my mentor,” said Carruthers. “I learned so much about writing and storytelling from him.”
Carruthers received her Associate of Arts in General Studies in 2006. The nuns who encouraged her return to school have offered more assistance so that she can earn a bachelor’s, which she is eager to complete. “IU has been golden for my daughter and me,” said Carruthers. “A year ago, I didn’t have a degree and didn’t have a book, and now I have both.”
