Dozens of my friends have reached out to me regarding what it’s like to stop your career and go back to school FULL TIME! Allow me to offer caution but encouragement. The CAUTION is that you are no longer 20 yrs old!!! Frat/Sorority doesn’t matter, you no longer care where the party is or know the names of the clubs. The Student Union is a place to get your books not hang out with students that could be your children (I hope the men caught that). You cannot re-live the past or try to be in the re-make of Spike Lee’s “School Daze”. My total obsession was achieving a 4.0 GPA and it worked.

The ENCOURAGEMENT is that if you are the oldest person in 95% of your classes you bring life experience and real world perspective to make the reading and class discussions come alive. My children above all became my motivation and that kept me focused. So going to college Full Time after 40 may not work for you. But if you’ve been putting off getting more education, now is as good a time as any. No recession can ever take what’s in your head. As my 80 yr old Grandmother told me ” if your going to live to be a Senior Citizen anyway, you might as well have all your degrees with you when you get there… its never too late” LOL…Classic

Be on the lookout for Leah Wright-Rigueur’s book: The Loneliness of the Black Conservative: Pragmatic Politics and the Pursuit of Power. David Pesci gives us a preview linked below.

The Riddle of Black Republicans: More Than Meets the Eye.

Metairie – Republican Party of Louisiana Chairman, Roger Villere, has named Shannon Reeves as Senior Advisor to the Chairman on African-American Affairs for the LAGOP.

“Over the years Shannon has been extremely active in both the African-American community as well as the conservative movement across the country,” said Chairman Villere.  From organizing the first College Republican Club at Grambling State University two decades ago to today, Shannon has always been a leader in his community.  His experiences and talents will be a great resource to me and to our party as we assume our role as the governing party of Louisiana.  I look forward to working with him as we continue to grow our party.”

Reeves, who has resided in both St. James and Lincoln Parishes is no stranger to Louisiana politics. He is the Managing Partner of Reeves Strategies, LLC.  His political experiences include serving as the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) Director of State and Local Development and as the elected Secretary of the California Republican Party.  During his tenure at the RNC, he served as the Party’s liaison between state, county and local Republican organizations on candidate support, professional development, and strategic positioning of the Party’s efforts in local communities. To date, he remains one of the Party’s leading experts on African-American voting trends, demographic changes and community constituencies.

As a civic leader, Reeves served Louisiana as the Southwest Regional Director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in addition to his six years of service as one of the few Republicans on the organization’s national board of directors.

Reeves was nominated by National Committeewoman Ruth Ulrich and elected on March 12, 2011 to represent Louisiana District 12B on the Republican State Central Committee.

“As a Party, we are fortunate to have a leader who has served as both a director of the NAACP and the RNC. For over twenty years, Shannon has shown a unique ability to work effectively, making a difference in the African-American community and providing high level strategic counsel to Republican leaders across the country, “ said Ruth Ulrich, RNC Vice Chair.

As Senior Advisor to Chairman Villere, Reeves will have a key role in linking leaders of the African-American community with leaders of the State Party and Louisiana elected officials.

“I am thankful to Chairman Villere for offering me this opportunity and I look forward to serving as the liaison between our party and the African-American community,” said Reeves.  “There are many bridges to be built and coalitions to be established. With thousands of conservative African-Americans in Louisiana, I look forward to helping those individuals find a place and a voice in the Republican Party.”