Her name is Anna Taylor, Rockwall junior, and she is a loud and proud non-traditional student.

"[Non-traditional students] have to commute, and we should be praised for having to drive so far and being moms that are in school and didn't just drop out," Taylor said. "We are going to school and are trying to do stuff. Just because we have kids doesn't mean we have to stay at home and be hermits."

This week, the Off-Campus Services and Community Development program is sponsoring non-traditional students week.

Non-traditional students are those aged 25 or older, who may be partnered or single, with or without children, and are attending school full or part-time, according to the Association of Non-Traditional Students in Higher Education.

Taylor is a married mother of two who commutes to Denton from Rockwall every day.

"It is important for the university to recognize our students as more and more of the nation's students do not fit the traditional mold," Amie Trahan of the Off-Campus Services and Community Development program said in an e-mail.

Students over the age of 24 make up 45 percent of NT students, Trahan said.

Several activities will be held on campus this week to promote the non-traditional student population.

There will be a social at 5:30 p.m. today in Wooten Hall, room 115.

The Off-Campus Services and Community Development program is also working on convincing professors to participate in "Bring Your Significant Other to Class Week," Trahan said.

"I would participate so [my husband] could see how hard it is," Taylor said. "He thinks it's so easy."

The program will also host a reception for the Center for Distributed Learning, which won the first Non-Traditional Student Friendly Award.

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