A life transformed: Angela Mundis

“I went from mom and wife to ‘what am I going to do with myself,’” she said.

Mundis saw it as a new opportunity. At 44 she seized the chance to go back to school and earn her degree.

A long-time St. Cloud resident, Mundis had worked for seven years as a police secretary and one year as 911 dispatcher but decided to give up the position to pursue her education and a love of maps.

She had been taking one class a semester for seven years earning a 4.0 GPA and sophomore status, but she always wanted the full college experience.

Growing up in Canada, Mundis didn’t have the opportunity to go to college. No one in her family had ever attended and she didn’t have access to financial aid.

“I never expected to be here, but it’s worked out well,” she said. “I love, love, love coming to class. I don’t miss a class.”

At 47, she’ll graduate in May with her bachelor’s degree in geography with a focus in geographic information systems. She’ll be the second person in her family to graduate, following her son’s spring 2015 graduation.

She’ll take a star turn at Commencement, delivering an address at the 10:30 a.m. May 5 ceremony.

To make returning to college full-time work financially, Mundis found an on-campus job in the philosophy department and went to work in waitressing, bartending and retail.

Working multiple jobs while pursuing her studies full-time gave Mundis new insight into her classmates.

“It was a little more difficult than I thought it would be,” she said. “You might have to work on a Thursday night and have a quiz or exam on Friday.

“And so I got this newfound respect for these young people trying to figure it out at 18, 19 years old.”

She found other non-traditional college students who acted as mentors along with geography faculty Misha Blinnikov and Gareth John.

John sponsored Mundis’ first-place presentation at the April 18 Student Research Colloquium. Her project, ” ‘Squaw’ in the American Landscape: The Place-Politics of Pejorative Toponymy,” analyzes American place names that use the offensive word, which is derived from Algonquian languages.

Her mentors inspired her to make her own way on campus and feel comfortable as a non-traditional student.

“It’s okay that I’m a little older than everybody else,” she said. “I don’t fit into some of the groups, but I also do fit into some of the groups.”

The Geography Club and Gamma Theta Upsilon Honor Society proved that when a member of the club approached Mundis her junior year and asked her to join the club and run for office.

She won the vice president election that year and is serving as president this year.

“It’s really fun even though I’m older,” she said. “I have different perspectives. The younger students they have great ideas, and I have experience.”

Despite working multiple jobs, she managed to gain a life-changing experience on a short-term study abroad trip to Costa Rica.

She also volunteers for the Tri-County Humane Society by serving on several fundraiser committees and previously volunteered with the Intensive English Center.

She credits the scholarships she’s received with making a difference — providing her with the little extra she needed, boosting her confidence and inspiring her to work harder.

With about $3,000 in scholarships this year, Mundis was able to focus more on her studies and spend more time volunteering and getting involved on campus.

“Through the last six years I’ve been telling my kids ‘You can do anything you want to do. The whole world is open to you right now,’” she said. “I kind of feel like that’s me too. I have nothing holding me back from going anywhere and doing anything I want to do. … The world is open to me now.”