Richard’s second act from dancer to ‘seasoned’ communication major

June 4, 2026

In 2023, Jocelyn Richard sat in the audience at her youngest daughter’s high school graduation. As she watched the ceremony, an idea struck her. After raising and sending her three children to college, her role in experiencing their academic achievements was coming to an end.

“I got the idea that it was my turn, that I want to go back to school,” she realized.

A self-described Baby Boomer, Richard concluded her back-to-school journey this month by completing her master’s degree in communication. She said her journey wasn’t just about earning another degree on the wall. Leaving her home in Augusta, Georgia, for college was about finding a university that would mentor her, challenge her and respect her performing arts roots.

“It was very important to me that the school had an arts program,” she explained. “They had to have a dance studio, and they had to have a theater. Because in my opinion, if you say you disseminate performing arts degrees, but you don’t have a theater, there’s a disconnect there.”

She found that connection at Columbus State. The Department of Communication offered the academic rigor she craved, and the university featured the vibrant arts community she required. Since she already had a dance degree and had decades of stage and studio experience, focusing on communication might have seemed like a shift to some; for Richard, it was a natural progression of her life’s work.

“[Communication] is really just another medium,” she said. “In dance, I primarily teach others to tell a story, to communicate a story through the music, through poetry, through Scripture... So, communication was actually a good segue for me—not a transition or pivot.”

Her communication coursework provided the theoretical framework for the instincts she has honed over the past three decades since earning a dance degree. Classes in communication theory have given her the vocabulary to understand the “why” behind her storytelling, while courses in persuasive campaigns and projects challenged her as she shifted from center stage to working behind the storytelling lens.

“I learned how to interview and edit and to use camera, sound and lighting equipment professionally,” she noted, admitting that remaining behind the scenes was a learning curve. “I had to remember, ‘no, Jocelyn, you’re supposed to be in the background. You’re supposed to be unseen.’”

Embracing the non-traditional advantage

Returning to the classroom as a non-traditional, or “seasoned,” student after a 30-year hiatus presented Richard with some hurdles. She had to re-master study habits and time management skills. She also had to acclimate herself to the rigor and the large volume of academic writing, as well as to the latest communication hardware and software used in the field.

However, Richard also realized that her life experience gave her a clear advantage: she understood the value of the education she was paying for. Being a penny-wise mother of three college graduates led her to pursue the academic, social and health supports the university offers—and to evangelize to her younger classmates to take advantage of the university’s benefits. 

“I understood the library was what I was paying for. So, I had no problem going there. I understood that tutoring, the Counseling Center and the career center are what I’m paying for. When the classroom work became challenging, I didn’t hesitate to seek out a tutor or a classmate to keep me accountable to my work and deadlines,” she said.

Becoming ‘one of the gang’

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of Richard’s return to school was her social integration. She fully immersed herself in the student experience, moving into One Arsenal Place, a residence hall on the university’s downtown RiverPark Campus. There, she’s reveled in the “exposed brick, high ceilings” and natural light of her historic living space—and its proximity to the university’s Bo Bartlett Center, performance halls and other theaters in the area.

Despite the age gap, she found herself welcomed by her teenage and 20-something dormmates. She built connections with students young enough to be her children—some sharing birth years with her own son—and received invaluable support from her resident assistant, who offered meaningful encouragement during stressful academic moments.

Richard also discovered communities within the Department of Communication. Joining the CSU Film Society, the Public Relations Student Society of America, and volunteering at WCUG 88.5 FM, the student-run radio station, provided her with “essential” ways to share experiences with and receive advice from her classmates. She credited a graduate assistantship in the Continuing & Professional Education division with providing her access to valuable experience “implementing strategic communication plans and campaigns in the real world and in real time.”

“Jocelyn brought both professionalism and heart to her work,” Sam Miller Gurski, director of Continuing & Professional Education, recalled. “Consistently going above and beyond with kindness, creativity and care, she is a powerful reminder that it takes real fortitude to return to higher education—and that lifelong learning is an act of bravery.”

Now, Richard is preparing to apply what she’s learned in the classroom to a new career chapter through a role with a nonprofit organization in New Orleans. She anticipates using the strategic communications management, volunteer recruitment and volunteer training skills she honed in her graduate studies and graduate assistantship to make a transformative impact on the community.

As Richard reflects on her two years on a college campus, she’s realized that some of her most treasured lessons go beyond what she learned in the classroom.

“One of the best experiences [about being at Columbus State] is how my classmates accepted me and brought me into the friendship circle and into the family, even though for some of them I’m old enough to be their grandmother,” she said. “[Age] didn’t matter. I was one of the gang…. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.”

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Media contact: Michael Tullier, APR