DALLAS TWP. — The Center for Adult and Continuing Education at Misericordia University recently named Karen Reilly, of Edwardsville, as the university’s 2019 Outstanding Adult Learner of the Year.
She was one of five students recognized by the Luzerne County Council on Adult Higher Education for overcoming obstacles and demonstrating perseverance, innovation and extraordinary dedication to reach their educational goals. Reilly works part time as an instructor, student success coordinator and and extern coordinator at Fortis Institute in Forty Fort. A full-time student maintaining a GPA of 3.3, Reilly will earn her bachelor’s degree in English at Misericordia University’s spring commencement on May 11.
Rebecca Steinberger, Ph.D., professor of English at Misericordia University, presented the award to Reilly at the Council on Adult Higher Education dinner. In a four-page letter of recommendation, Dr. Steinberger described Reilly as a student “who embodies the definition of motivation in the face of adversity.”
“Karen is one of the most inquisitive and intellectually-curious students I have had the pleasure to teach,” Steinberger wrote. “For three years, I have seen Karen’s blossoming into a first-class student, active researcher and potential scholar. It is no wonder that she has been accepted to the MA (Master of Arts) in Literature program at Slippery Rock University.”
She has also been accepted into the online MA in Research program at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom.
A driven adult learner, Reilly participated in Misericordia’s Student Undergraduate Research Fellowship program for two summers and conducted research in London for her senior thesis, “Fragmented Identities: Staging Disabilities in the U.K.” In addition, she represented Misericordia at the XVIII International Ernest Hemingway Conference in Paris in 2018, the largest gathering of Hemingway scholars ever held, where she presented the paper, “‘Manhood Lost’: The Psychological and Physical Ramifications of Jake Barnes’ Wound in ‘The Sun Also Rises.’”
Reilly is a member of Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society and participated in candy gram, T-shirt sales, and poetry auction projects for the organization.
She started her career as a nurse, but had to abandon the field when diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2008. Reilly defied the odds when told she would soon be confined to a wheelchair. With perseverance, she overcame the need to use crutches, and has been free of assistive devices for the past five years. “I consider this to be just another of the challenges in life that we all have to get through,” Reilly said.
“I found the right outlet for my passion in the English program at Misericordia University,” Reilly added. “I also believe in teaching by example. In pursuing my degree, I have shown my students and my children that it is never too late to further your education.”
A single mother, Reilly has three children. Daughter Kelly already holds a college degree, her daughter Erin will earn a master’s degree the day before her mother graduates, and son Sean will earn his college degree at the same date and time as his mother. “As a single parent, the fact that I have instilled the value of education in my children is my greatest achievement,” Reilly stated.
In addition to her academic and work commitments, Reilly helps organize several holiday events for children in the local community. They include Trunk or Treat, a safe Halloween program that provides candy and festivities for more than 1,000 children, and a Christmas program that offers pictures with Santa and a sing-a-long for more than 500 children, both at Fortis Institute. She has also written the article, “Me and My ‘Art’ism,” which was published in Autism Parenting magazine.
