Lori Bordner '23
Business administration with a concentration in accounting
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
A couple of years ago, Lori Bordner ’23 was struggling in an economics class. One of the homework assignments just wasn’t clicking. Feeling anxious and stressed, she texted her professor. This was her first class at Messiah as part of the adult degree program in business administration.
“She texted back, ‘Call me right now,” said Bordner. “She said to me, ‘Don’t you dare struggle. If you are having any issues, you reach out to me, whatever I can do to get you through this.’ From that point forward, my mind was at ease. She said, ‘We’re not here to see you trip and fall.’ That made all the difference.”
That wasn’t her experience in the 1980s during her first attempt at college right out of high school. After attending for four years, she left, a few credits shy of a degree. She got married, raised two children and had two successful careers—as an administrative assistant to a controller and as a cosmetologist.
Besides her extensive resume and wealth of skills, she was always aware of coming so close to getting a degree.
“I always finish what I start,” she said. “It had always bothered me.”
Once her children were grown and out of college themselves, she realized she had some extra time on her hands. She was running the salon at Messiah Lifeways and saw an ad for Messiah’s adult degree program. She could complete her degree online, something that hadn’t been an option all the other times she’d considered going back to school while working full-time.
“I was terrified. I hadn’t been back in school in 35 years. Because I’m a lifelong learner, I had always taught myself,” she said.
But she says she found everyone at Messiah to be encouraging and uplifting.
“Especially the other adult learners. We all helped each other out. We used those strengths and weaknesses to help each other,” she said.
What’s next? Like many of the graduates who walked across the stage that day, she’s starting a new job—as an office manager at Control Systems 21 in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania. Unlike new grads just starting their careers, however, she brings a breadth of experience to the table.
“The degree tells the rest of the world I know what I’m doing, but I’ve never been afraid to change jobs,” she said. “They need me more than I need them. I’m not going to know how to act when the only thing I have to do is go to work.”
She also experienced the joy of having her husband, children, sister and parents watch her come full circle academically at Commencement.
“I have to giggle. I never gave any thought to who wanted to be at my graduation. I truly did this for myself,” she said. “Then my kids said, ‘Are you kidding, Mom? Do you think we’re gonna miss this?’ It’s been humbling, overwhelming and incredible.”
— Anna Seip