Rosie Duke-Inniss wasn’t afraid to dive into adult education. She just wanted to make sure the time — and the topic — was right.

Now fully engaged in an online learning journey that’s shaping her future in positive ways, Rosie wants other adult learners to have the confidence to dive right in, too.

“Do as much research as you can. And then just dive in. Get the support. Don’t hold back, even if it’s just one class you start off with, something to get your foot in the door and then go from there.”

“You just have to get the ball rolling and then deal with things as they come up,” she says. “Do as much research as you can. And then just dive in. Get the support. Don’t hold back, even if it’s just one class you start off with, something to get your foot in the door and then go from there.”

Now 33, Rosie has been taking online courses with Confederation College since September 2020 and is enrolled in the two-year Social Service Worker diploma program. She has also taken advantage of free learning opportunities including personal finance essentials from McGill University as well as various LinkedIn Learning and Gale courses.

After working in customer service and retail for years, she took a circuitous route to online learning. She had her daughter at age 24 and attended massage therapy school for a time in the early 2000s. She liked being in college and enjoyed learning, but wasn’t sure what she wanted to pursue.

“I decided that when I turned 31, I would go back to school,” Rosie says. “I did some research and figured the social service worker field was best for me. It covers a broad spectrum, and then I can finetune exactly what I want later on.”

Ultimately, Rosie would like to keep the ball rolling and work toward becoming a doctor one day.

“After I started college, my older sister was debating whether she wanted to go to school,” she says. “She started last September. She just finished her first year of law school — and she’ll be 40.”

As for online learning from her home in Etobicoke, Rosie says: “I absolutely love it. I knew I wanted to do it online because I have a daughter and I knew I wanted to have as easy a transition to school as possible. I made it a goal for myself to attend every single class. It worked really well for me.”

These days, Rosie is driven to keep herself accountable, make sure she’s attentive for all her classes and focus on what has to get done and when. Her experience with Contact North has been instrumental throughout.

“It’s been really great,” she says. “Samantha (at our Georgina online learning centre) has been very helpful. She walked me through the entire process. We had a Zoom call, talked about what my interests are, what I’m looking for and how she could help with that. She actually set everything up. She even follows up just to see how I’m doing. It’s been a great experience.”