Earning her education by degree
When Barbara Elfman was 18, she had a difficult decision to make. She wanted to pursue her bachelor’s degree, but needed to begin earning an income. “I completed a two-year nursing degree,” Elfman said. “I worked as a nurse for 10 years, got married, and started my family. But I always felt this loss at not having a bachelor’s degree.” After leaving nursing to raise her children, Elfman returned to her undergraduate studies at Wellesley College in 2001 — when her children were then 8, 11, and 14 — and graduated with a B.A. in art history in 2005. When she joined the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) as administrative director of the Advanced Studies Program in 2006, Elfman was intrigued by the opportunity to pursue her master’s degree at Harvard. “After a year of getting comfortable in my position, I started taking courses,” Elfman said. “I was fortunate in that I...