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Dennis Marek: Dad, Mom – I do not want to go to college – Shaw Local

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5 months ago

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When I was thinking about college, those words just would not have come out. To get to go to college was an honor and a privilege. Of course, most wanted to go to some college and get the best jobs. It was an assumption for most high school students in the 1950s.

USA Today ran an article a week ago that caught my full attention. The subhead read “Teen grads increasingly choosing tech school.” I had certainly heard the idea that college is not for all, and I fully agree. But the statistics that I read were a bit shocking. First was a survey finding that 45% of teens were not interested in going to college. Of that group, about 14% were considering a trade school of sorts, and the rest were considering other options.

Also, with those teens not wanting college, many of their parents were fine with the idea, but overall, over 80% of all teens’ parents encouraged their children to attend college. A substantial number of parents did support a plan to not immediately attend college, rather seeking some time during which to travel, go to work or pursue a nondegree program.

Of course, finance is one of the leading reasons for not attending college. The price of education, whether it be at a four-year university, a junior college or even some sort of online platform, can be downright scary. Right now, the average cost of an in-state tuition at a university is $10,000 a year, while to attend out of state is almost triple that number. College tuition has doubled since 2000.

Want an even a scarier thought? Full tuition at Northwestern Law School in 1964 was about $6,000 a year. Last I heard, it was now close to $80,000 per year. Walking out looking for that first job, if there was no scholarship help, that law student would be $250,000 in debt.

Compare those numbers with the fact that the average cost of a complete trade school program’s tuition was about $15,000 last year. Then, one can compare those costs with what the potential income would be for the student. Is that fancy school worth it? Will there be a return on that additional investment?

I look back at the classmates of my 1967 graduation from law school and look back on their productive financial lives. Take my three roommates over that three-year span in law school. What a difference in ultimate employment. My freshman roommate was hired by a very prestigious law firm in San Francisco and would eventually represent the National Football League! One ended up in the insurance business far from the practice of law. The third, after making the coveted Law Review his first year, moved to an island off Seattle and raised goats. He later taught online for a university, and for a short stint served as a public defender. He really did a minimal practice of law.

Of course, those men all completed seven years of college and probably owed a substantial amount of college debt upon graduation, as did I. But the field opened a lifetime of practicing law to two of us. The college grind and expense were well worth it in the long run. Without our law degrees, we couldn’t pursue that career.

But that was almost 60 years ago. Certainly, things have changed. My senior high school class of 1960 had me as the only one who had his undergraduate degree after four years. Many more were to achieve that goal in a couple extra years, but cost and other factors brought a delay to some and a permanent nonattendance to a lot of others.

It is now 2025. My two oldest grandchildren have graduated from college, and two more are in college. None have shown any desire to skip this further education. But one of the surveys mentioned in the USA Today article showed that most high school students and their parents are basically unaware of their post-graduation options other than the four-year college path. Until graduation is near, many high school students and their parents have not discussed future educational plans.

I remember hearing that when a friend of mine was in high school, his father talked only about IF he went to college. My family talked only about WHEN we went to college. Expectation is often a driving force.

But college life is so much more than a degree and learning new skills. It can open the student to other ways of life, other beliefs, even other political views. Growing up in Clifton had not taught me a lot about much of the world. Only getting out there and experiencing it had me learning of the many differences here on planet Earth. It showed me that we Americans can be quite different in our views, our social status and our beliefs, be it political, religious or economics. I even found out that there were lots of folks who did not understand the difference between a cornfield and a soybean field.

If college is one thing, it is the opening of one’s eyes to so many other ways of life. Trade school is fine but generally confining, with no relocation and the same community. College is so much more wide open to life experiences as well as education. So, if your child or grandchild wants to skip college and go straight to a work plan, so be it. But at least show him or her the other options, even though it involves a lot of hard work and expense. Let the child see both sides and then decide.

Dennis Marek can be contacted at llamalaw23@gmail.com.



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Kansas City Yields Positive Results at Nebraska, Iowa State

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December 13, 2025

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LINCOLN, Neb. — Kansas City completed their final meets of 2025, showcasing positive signs for the indoor season moving forward at the Husker Holiday Open and ISU Holiday Invitational on Friday afternoon. Last weekend, Kansas City broke school records in the men’s 60 and 300-meter dashes, the men’s 600-yard dash and the women’s shot put at the Crimson and Gold Invitational. This weekend didn’t go by without a record being broken as KC’s All-American Tory Lanham delivered his third indoor school record, darting a 47.62 second time in the 400-meter dash to take first in the race and break fellow sprinter Jayden Henry’s 47.71 time set in last year’s holiday meet. Lanham continues to cement a historic legacy at Kansas City as the junior sprinter is KC’s school record holder in the indoor 200, 300 and 400-meter dashes, breaking each previous record in the calendar year of 2025.

Elsewhere in Lincoln, several other Roos put forth a great effort on the track, ending 2025 of a positive note heading into the New Year. Notably, distance runner Dalton Heller set a career-best in the mile, running a 4:18.52 and finishing third in the event. Right behind Heller was Luke Swarts, running a 4:20.68 to give the sophomore a new career-best time in the mile. Connor Jacober finished first in the 800-meter dash among several competitors, finishing with a 1:59.45 time. In the field, Hunter Roos earned himself a first place finish, cracking a triple jump mark of 14.32 meters. Brant Wilson finished as Kansas City’s best long jumper, leaping a mark of 6.84 meters which was good for third in the event. 

On the women’s side, Jacky-Perez Vela nearly notched a program record in the 300-meter dash, recording a time of 39.86 seconds, finishing under a tenth of a second shy of the Roos all-time record at 39.79 set back in 2024. Naomi Eyanagho clocked a 60-meter hurdles time of 9.21 seconds, finishing fourth in the race and coming close to her career-best. In the women’s 60-meter dash, Tonique Fleming sprinted a third place time of 7.87 seconds while Sarah Wulfert came in sixth with a time of 7.92 seconds. Additionally, Wulfert and Fleming came in the top five finishers in the 200-meter dash, leaving the meet with times of 25.21 and 25.55 respectively.  

In Ames, Kansas City put together a nice performance with Stephen Clunis getting a time of 6.68 in the 60-meter dash and Junior Powell notching a time of 6.91 in the same event. Kai White and M.J. Foster got times of 2:28.84 and 2:29.60 in the 1000-meter dash to close out Kansas City’s day at Iowa State. Kansas City takes a break for the holidays before hitting the ground running on January 10 for the Alexis Jarrett Invitational at Missouri. 



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Wisconsin defeats Stanford in NCAA regional semifinals: Updates, recap

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43 minutes ago

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December 13, 2025

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6:20 pm CT December 12, 2025

Who does Wisconsin volleyball play next in NCAA tournament?

John Steppe

Third-seeded Wisconsin will face top-seeded Texas in the NCAA regional finals on Dec. 14 at a to-be-announced time. The Longhorns are coming off a sweep in the regional semifinals against fourth-seeded Indiana.

Here are some highlights from the Texas-Indiana match:

6:02 pm CT December 12, 2025

More to read from Wisconsin’s four-set win over Stanford

John Steppe

5:32 pm CT December 12, 2025

Wisconsin’s Charlie Fuerbringer goes out of her way to praise teammate Una Vajagic

John Steppe

3:20 pm CT December 12, 2025

Wisconsin volleyball advances to the regional finals, will face Texas

John Steppe

Wisconsin is headed to the NCAA regional finals following a four-set win over Stanford. The Badgers won the fourth set, 25-22. Check back for more postmatch updates.



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#11 Volleyball Practices, Then Meets Media Prior to #2 Kentucky Match

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59 minutes ago

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December 13, 2025

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Creighton Volleyball team practiced for just more than an hour before meeting the media in Lexington, Ky., on Friday afternoon as it completed preparations for Saturday’s Elite Eight match at No. 2 Kentucky.

After practice, Creighton head coach Brian Rosen, along with Eloise Brandewie, Jaya Johnson and Abbey Hayes met the media.

First serve between Creighton and Kentucky is set for 4 p.m. Central. The contest will be nationally-televised on ESPN2.

 



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What channel is Kansas women’s volleyball vs Nebraska? Time, schedule

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December 13, 2025

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Dec. 12, 2025, 3:04 a.m. CT



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‘U’ Falls in Sweet 16 to No. 4 Pittsburgh

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2 hours ago

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December 13, 2025

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PITTSBURGH, Pa. — The No. 4 seeded Minnesota volleyball team fell to the No. 1 seeded Pittsburgh Panthers on Thursday night at the Petersen Events Center in three sets. The set scores of the match were 25-16, 25-23, 25-22.

The Gophers season ended in the Sweet 16 for the 21st time in program history with a 24-10 (12-8 B1G) record.

“Congrats to Pittsburgh on the win and for the university and city for being such great hosts,” said head coach Keegan Cook. “I’m proud of the way our team battled tonight and throughout the season. We just fell a little bit short tonight. I told the team I have loved coaching them all year and appreciate their willingness to learn and grow. We’re going to miss these seniors next year, but we’re glad to get back to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament and continue to push the program forward.”

Kelly Kinney and Carly Gilk led Minnesota with nine kills while Stella Swenson had 28 assists, three blocks and three aces. Julia Hanson was held to eight kills in her final collegiate match.

The Gophers (24-10, 12-8 Big Ten) were outhit the Panthers (29-4, 18-2 ACC) .271 to .178, leading in kills (47 to 33) and digs (48 to 34). Minnesota had more aces (4 to 3) and blocks (10 to 5).

Julia Hanson commented on her time at Minnesota and what it meant for her to end her career as a Golden Gopher.

“There were times that I questioned myself and how things were going after my sophomore year,” Hansen said. “But I’m so glad to be a part of this program and so proud to have that ‘M’ on my chest. It means everything to me. I’m so thankful for my time at Minnesota.”

For Pittsburgh, Olivia Babcock had 19 kills while Brooke Mosher went for 35 assists. Bre Kelly and Blaire Bayless also had eight kills for the Panthers.

How It Happened

SET 1 | Pittsburgh started out hot, scoring six of the first seven points before Minnesota called a timeout. The Gophers tallied a pair of kills to get it to four at 7-3 before the Panthers scored three straight on two kills and a block to go up 10-3. An attacking error followed by a kill from Kinney and a block from Myers cut it to four again at 11-7. Following a service error from Minnesota, the Gophers scored four of the next five to force a Pitt timeout, trailing 13-11. Swenson tallied an ace, Gilk had a kill and Taylor combined with Gilk on a block. After the timeout, the Panthers bounced back by scoring four of five, taking a 17-12 lead and forcing coach Cook’s final timeout of the frame. The Gophers would get no closer than five the rest of the way as the Panthers closed out the first frame, 25-16. Pitt hit .267 for the set while Minnesota hit just .026.

SET 2 | Minnesota came out strong, scoring seven of the first 12. Swenson had two aces while Kinney tallied a pair of kills. A kill from Myers and a block from Kinney and Myers put the Gophers up 10-9 before three straight from Pitt forced a Minnesota timeout, trailing 12-10. Kills from Swenson and Gilk combined with a Panthers attacking error helped give Minnesota back the lead at 14-13. The Panthers scored three of the next four to tie it up at 16-16. Two more kills put them up 18-16, forcing Minnesota’s final timeout of the set. Pitt would go up by as many as three at 22-19 before two errors cut the lead to just one at 22-21, leading to a Pitt timeout. A Panthers hitting error and kill from Hanson tied it up at 23-23, forcing one more Pitt timeout. A kill and a block won the set for Pitt, 25-23.

SET 3 | Pitt scored seven of the first 11 points before kills from Taylor and Gilk combined with a block from Hanson and Taylor tied it up at 7-7. The Panthers went on a 5-2 spurt after that, getting four kills and an ace to go up 12-9, forcing a Minnesota timeout. The Gophers would battle back, scoring five of the next seven to cut it to 15-14. Kills from Gilk and Myers combined with an ace from Garr tied it up at 17 apiece. A pair of kills from Myers put Minnesota up 19-18, leading to a Panthers timeout. After the break, Minnesota got a block and a Pitt error to go up 21-19 before the Panthers answered back with two more to tie it at 21. The two teams exchanged the next pair of points before the Panthers closed out the match on a 3-0 run to win, 25-22.

Game Notes

» Minnesota is now 1-3 all-time against Pitt, including 0-2 in the NCAA Tournament.

» The Gophers are now 10-11 in the NCAA Regional Semifinals.

» Minnesota posted 10+ blocks for the 15th time this season.

» Minnesota is now 4-7 against ranked opponents this season.

» McKenna Garr (10) posted 10+ digs for the 24th time in 2025.

» Lourdes Myers went for six blocks to lead Minnesota.

» Stella Swenson went for 28 assists and a team-best three aces.

Up Next

Minnesota’s spring season begins in January.



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Nebraska Volleyball keeping practices light-hearted as they prep for NCAA Regional

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3 hours ago

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December 13, 2025

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LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Nebraska volleyball is keeping the practices light-hearted as they prep to play Kansas in the NCAA Regional.

The Huskers come into the Round of 16 with a 32-0 record and a lot of pressure to make the Final Four. With the mountain of expectations, the players and coaching staff are keeping the training fun and focused on each round rather than the latter goals.

“We still have a lot of fun in our practice, so even though the level is so high, we’re still managing to find ways to have fun,” junior middle blocker Andi Jackson said.

The light-hearted practices and emphasis on playing freely, has really proven to help Jackson’s game. This season she is hitting a nation-best .483 and is averaging 1.14 blocks per set.

“If you look too far into the future, you’re probably going to get a little nervous and get a little stressed out. So just really focusing on what we’re doing in the moment and focusing on where our feet are,” junior outside hitter Harper Murray said.

Nebraska VB’s HC Dani Busboom Kelly, MB Andi Jackson, and OH Harper Murray Pre-Sweet 16 Press Conference | Dec. 11, 2025

No. 1 ranked Nebraska will face off against 16th ranked Kansas on Friday, Dec. 12. The match starts 30 minutes after the conclusion of the two-seed Louisville versus three-seed Texas A&M match, which begins at 6 p.m. CT.

Click here to subscribe to our 10/11 NOW daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.

Copyright 2025 KOLN. All rights reserved.



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