From Bachelor trainee and Colleges and trainings

I worked as a Houseparent at Hathaway Home for Children for a little over a year. While there, the Social Worker in our cottage told me about a place where I could get a fully accredited bachelor’s degree by documenting my life experience since leaving Stanford as the equivalent of enough units to complete the degree.

In 1975 Antioch University Los Angeles had a fully accredited self-directed B.A. degree program that was perfect for my situation at that time. I spent the school year of 1975-1976 writing a 250 page Portfolio that documented the 13 years of schooling, life experience, individual work with teachers and mentors, and independent study I had done since starting Stanford in 1962.

I wrote a narrative that made sense of my life to that time.  My degree plan was on the model of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. The “ordinary  world” starting point was traditional academics, the plunge was into the counter-culture, and the boon I brought back for the return was the seeds for an integration of eastern and western thought and practice. I received a BA in Buddhism and Psychotherapy, and continued  investigating the path toward becoming a psychotherapist.

Next step would be getting an advanced degree in psychology. But first I had to replenish my finances by going back to work as a stagehand. And while doing that I met my wife to be, which accelerated the process of becoming economically self supporting.