Metallica Scholar: Sharon Long

Aiken, S.C. resident Sharon Long decided to return to the classroom to challenge herself and explore something new. The desire led her to enroll in a continuing education computer technology course at Aiken Technical College in the fall of 2023. While she intended to enroll in an introductory computer course, she ended up in the CompTIA A+ course. Despite facing a more advanced curriculum, she decided to take on the challenge.

Tell us what you were doing in life before you made the decision to go to school.

I was not interested in a career; I just wanted something to keep my mind busy, something positive. Because at this point, I’ve worked 25, 30 years and I’m in a position now that I’m taking care of my parents. So, in the meantime, I wanted to do something positive. That’s how I got involved with this class.”

Tell us about your experience with this course.

It’s been a good learning experience. The teacher was very helpful, very nice, very professional. And that’s what made it easier. I liked how the instructor used life experiences with the technology. He always gave us chances to ask questions. He encouraged us to ask questions.

What are you most proud of?

I’m proud that I didn’t give up when I saw that the class was A+, and that was beyond my knowledge. I asked God to open my mind so that I could understand what was going on with the computers. So that’s what I’m most proud of--that I was determined to hang in there and stay in the class.

If you could tell the band (Metallica) “thanks,” how would you say it?

A lot of people need people like Metallica to support education because some folks don’t have the money to take a course like this. (The A+ course) is a free course, thanks to people like Metallica. So, Metallica, I thank you very much for giving me an opportunity to learn about something so important in this day and age. Free education is wonderful. It absolutely is, and for them to support it? That’s awesome! Kudos to them!