For Crystal Trulove '07, MA '07, Commencement will mark the end of a remarkable academic journey
In academic lexicon, Crystal Trulove ’07, MA ’07 is classified as a “non-traditional” student at Brandeis. And, as she can tell you, they don’t come any less traditional than the 37-year-old single mother and former National Weather Service meteorologist from New Meadows, Idaho.
Closer in age to her classmates’ parents than the students she will march with at Brandeis Commencement on May 20, Trulove will graduate with both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in anthropology, the culmination of a journey inspired by her commitment to her 9-year-old daughter, Tara.
“Getting a Brandeis education gives me a better chance to be the kind of parent I want to be, and the way I have done it will, hopefully, set an example for her that sometimes things worth doing in life are difficult,” said Trulove, the recipient of the Rita Fine ’55 Memorial Scholarship, which supports non-traditional students at Brandeis.
After graduating from high school in 1988, Trulove joined the Air Force. She spent four years in the military as a weather specialist before becoming a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The work took her from Burlington, Vt., to the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, with many stops in between.
“I had a good job, job security, and good benefits, but it was becoming very technical, and because of national security issues after Sept. 11, we were encouraged not to interact with the public as much,” Trulove said.
Additionally, the job’s overnight hours restricted the amount of time she could spend with her daughter, who lives with her father in Oregon. While working full time and enrolled part time in a community college in northern California, Trulove had an epiphany: To eventually have the life she wanted for herself and her daughter, she needed to become a full-time student at a four-year college.
Recalling that a former schoolmate in Idaho attended Brandeis on a full scholarship, Trulove applied – and was accepted. She enrolled in September 2004, finding herself in first-year orientation programs with students about half her age.
Trulove drew some strange looks her first few days on campus. “Someone asked me, ‘Why are you in this class?’ I said, ‘Well, I’m a student,’ ” Trulove said. “At this point, there isn’t much reaction. I think they’re getting used to me. People have been open and welcoming.”
The more difficult adjustment has been outside the classroom. In order to provide Tara with a home up to her standards, Trulove lives in a more affordable community that is a one-hour train ride from campus. She only gets to see Tara every six weeks.
“It was very hard at first – moving so far away, not knowing anyone, suddenly being broke – but no question the most difficult part was leaving my daughter,” she said.
The classes have been stimulating and enlightening, although she views the content through a different prism than her fellow students. “It’s harder for me to accept certain theories as being absolute; younger people can go on faith,” she said. “I have been out in the real world for 20 years and have a different perspective. I end up looking more at the big picture.”
Trulove’s train rides provide her time to work on her honors thesis; she’s researching how people’s interactions on commuter trains are shaped by their fears, and how the nature of those contacts has changed since Sept. 11.
After graduation, she plans to move to Oregon to be near her daughter and work in the field of mediation, helping businesses, institutions, communities, and people solve problems outside the court system.
“Brandeis has helped me fulfill my dreams,” Trulove said. “This has been a wonderful experience.”