Hello. I’m SUSAN HIGHSMITH. I’m an octogenarian who has earned academic credentials, many of them late in life, that prepare me to share many of the ideas I’ll be presenting on this website. I left my family of origin very early, at age 16. I married before finishing high school and had two children before turning twenty. That story, which I thought would never be told, became the basis for getting a doctorate at age 62 and writing my first book in 2014, The Renaissance of Birth: Changing the Language of Childbirth.
I went back to high school to get my high school diploma after my first child was born so I still graduated at 18. Although I was awarded a scholarship to attend Arizona State University, I was already pregnant with my second child (a planned pregnancy this time) and had to let the scholarship go. At the time, my husband’s career was more important than mine. He was earning his Bachelor’s Degree through a military program called the Airman Education and Commissioning Program (AECP) at ASU. Our marriage lasted almost nine years but it was the disaster most people had predicted it would be.
Ironically, my father did not want to send me to college even though my teachers thought I had the potential to get a PhD. When I was 15 Daddy asked me if I wanted to be a nurse or a secretary because he thought an Associate’s Degree would be fine and I’d probably get married anyway. He and I had a serious confrontation that year and I determined that I would be out of the house as soon as possible; and, indeed, I was.
After my divorce, I remarried quickly to the man I am still married to. That was 1969—55 years ago. When I was 28 I really wanted to go back to school, so I registered for one class at the local community college. I was so scared and lacking in self-confidence. The registrar wanted me to take a remedial English class but my husband convinced him that I had previously earned a scholarship and could probably handle English 101. I did, of course, and kept going, in spite of moving back to Arizona. I earned an Associate’s Degree in General Studies which I thought would prepare me to eventually get a Bachelor’s and even Master’s Degree. It did, but it was years later after a long career in real estate.
I finally let go of that career but I had learned that I could succeed in the world. I became President of my Realtor association, developed an equal-opportunity in the housing program, and overextended myself so far that I burned out.
What I still had a desire to do was get a BA. So I commuted 150 miles round trip each semester to attend the University of Arizona to earn a BA in Women’s Studies and then a Master’s degree in Counseling and Guidance. After entering the Counseling program, I went to my grad advisor and explained that it was pretty expensive to commute for almost four years to go to school. I asked if she could find me work as a Graduate Assistant or help in some way. She did. It was 1990 when I received the same form letter from the Board of Regents for Arizona universities, just like the one I had received 30 years earlier. It granted me a full academic scholarship, this time to complete my Master’s Degree. I could hardly believe it.
While I was getting that degree I also earned a Master’s level Certificate of Gerontology. I didn’t understand until recently that this interest in the entire lifespan would be important. Through an odd set of circumstances, I heard that the Veteran’s Administration needed a Career Counselor at the local military base near the town where I lived. I called the VA Director and, before I had my degree in hand, I had a job counseling veterans. For eight years I met and counseled so many wonderful people. But, in 2001, I really felt it was time to let that contract go. My husband and I both “retired” ( a word I rarely use) and agreed to participate in four seminars during the year to determine what we wanted to be when we grew up!
One of those introduced me to Bruce Lipton, an amazing cell biologist who spoke at two of those conferences. I found out that we had a mutual interest in Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology (PPNP). That summer I contacted the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute in California where Dr. Lipton was adjunct faculty because they had a graduate program that seemed to be the one I had waited for my whole life. The President of the Institute countered every excuse I had for not attending that year. On September 10, 2001, I was in Florida and had a telephone interview with Dr. Glenn who told me I was accepted into their PhD Program. I was ecstatic! The next day the towers came down and we had a challenging time getting back to Arizona, but I boarded a plane for Santa Barbara a month later. I was 58. It took five years to get that degree in Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology, and I loved every minute of it. I graduated at age 62. My motto is “It is never too late” to learn and, with my enhanced understanding of babies in utero, I also say, “It is never too early.”
When I thought I’d never be able to find a way to get a PhD, I took a correspondence course from the American Institute of Holistic Theology. I hold a Doctorate of Divinity from that organization. I am not religious but I believe that in addition to our physical, mental, and emotional aspects, a sense of spirituality is essential. So as a counselor and educator, I balance psychological theory and practice with spiritual and holistic wisdom. My interests have evolved into a lifespan perspective as I assist those who are seeking fresh insights when addressing issues in their lives. I see my own life as a living laboratory for exploring ways to be accountable, move beyond blame and shame, and develop the skills and practices that promote love, health, success, and genuine peace of mind.
