Woman chooses CVTC education to ‘rebuild’ herself

The joy that Justine Childs exudes is palpable.  But she will tell you that light wasn’t always easily visible.

Growing up in a conservative religion with certain gender role expectations kept Childs confined to a figurative box for decades.

But come Thursday, Dec. 12, she will mark one more item off her journey of self-exploration. Not only will she graduate from Chippewa Valley Technical College with an Associate of Science degree by completing the University Transfer Liberal Arts program, but she also will give the commencement speech.

The accomplishment is less about the degree and more about the journey.

Since she was young, Justine Childs dreamed of going to college. But her religion, coupled with being married at a young age, having four children young, and feeling the weight of everyone else’s expectations, kept her from making her own dreams a reality.

“I always wanted to have a career and go to college, but the religion I belonged to wanted women to stay home, and you couldn’t get an education,” she said. “I wanted that education. I wanted the option.”

Nearly 25 years after getting married, she found herself divorced without a career or an education. Childs said it was an uphill battle but one where she could finally make her own choices.

“I should not have been in that position. I found myself with $100 to my name and no way of supporting myself,” she said. “I was mad at myself that I ended up in that position. But I realized if I want to be happy and have a peaceful life, I have to take some action.

“I knew I had to take some steps and rebuild myself.”

Part of rebuilding, for Childs, was attending CVTC.

She began her studies in the Surgical Technologist program in 2019, but less than a year later, the pandemic shifted her timeline.

When she returned to CVTC a couple of years later, she determined she would put her credits together and figure out what degree would work best with the credits she already had.

As she looks to the future, writing and editing are her top choices for her career, but with her past life experience, she knows that even the most thought-out plans can easily be derailed. She is going to see where life takes her before making any long-term decisions.

Her commencement speech to her fellow graduates delivers some important life lessons.

“Life is scary,” she said. “I want them to know that they’re going to fail at times. They have to brush themselves off and realize that is part of life. Growth doesn’t happen from success; it happens from failing. I have learned my biggest lessons from failing.

“And if you love something, you’re going to succeed at it.”