Elaine Drake ’13
kept college on the back burner while working and raising children. In 2009 she heeded an inner call to finish what she started, through URI’s “Finish What You Started” Program. Through transfer credits, her employer’s flexibility, URI’s online and in-person classes, and the PLA program—“Prior Learning Assessment” to earn academic credit for non-classroom experiences—Elaine now has her B.A. in communication studies, with a minor in gender and women’s studies (GWS), and a new job as communications and engagement manager for Citizens Bank. Studying GWS, Elaine says, “opened a whole new world of ideas and has been a big influence on my work life. I tend to apply my gender lens in trying to get things done and help people see things from a more equitable perspective.”