Nicole Pisco

“I fell in love with the school and the classes and the learning process. Once I started, I felt like I never wanted to leave.”

Nicole Pisco dropped out of college in the 1990s and figured she would never earn a college degree. She was doing quite well without one and felt funny going back to school once she reached her mid-20s. After all, she and her husband had started a business, nurtured it into a profitable venture, and sold it. Then, they started a family.

After giving birth to her daughter, however, Nicole developed a hankering to write and enrolled in a fiction writing course offered through the Center for Continuing Education at Sarah Lawrence College. The class captured her imagination, and the prose began to flow in the supportive atmosphere of the college’s small classes and personalized attention.

She soon decided to pursue her undergraduate degree at Sarah Lawrence.

"I fell in love with the school and the classes and the learning process," says Pisco. "Once I started, I felt like I never wanted to leave."

She dove into writing with fervor, crafting stories that were both poignant and humorous. Her short story, "Broken"—a tale of two neglected children in Philadelphia who come together and become friends—won the Nancy Lynn Schwartz Contest for Fiction.

For Pisco, and many students who never completed their undergraduate studies, the Center for Continuing Education provides the perfect bridge to earning that elusive bachelor’s degree. It also provides a perfect opportunity for adult learners looking for an intellectual challenge or those looking to prepare for advanced study.