Kasworm (2008) explores the emotional challenges and experiences of
the adult learner in college education as an exercise of hope and
collaborative creation of learning perspectives. The first of four “acts
of hope” the chapter describes is the entry into a college program,
which often involves tenuous financial situations as well as
ambivalence or even discouragement from friends, family, and
colleagues. The next act of hope is persistent engagement in the
classroom, which often means relegating competing priorities and
aspirations. The third act of hope Kasworm (2008) discusses is
opening up to new knowledge and perspectives. Adult learners tend to
view new information through the lens of their own experience, and
