After decades in the work force, droves of baby boomers are returning to college in hopes of launching a second career that will last well into their "retirement" years.

At least that's the plan for 50-year-old Melissa Anderson, who, after a 27-year career as a production worker at Armstrong World Industries, has enrolled at Harrisburg Area Community College as a nursing student.

Anderson, of Manheim, was laid off in April 2006 when her job was outsourced overseas.

Although she knew layoffs were imminent, Anderson said she was shocked when she learned her job was being cut.

"I was devastated," Anderson said. "It was very difficult for me to comprehend and accept, even though I knew it was coming. I had a sense of panic."

She said she started looking for work after the layoff but found the wages being offered weren't comparable to what she had been earning at Armstrong.

A dismal wage wasn't the only unappealing aspect of the job market. Anderson also didn't want to resume a career in manufacturing.

"I had a bitter taste in my mouth about the industry," she said.

Richard Lefever, 48, a HACC radiology student, returned to school in 2004 after working at SCI, an electronics company in York, for nearly 26 years.

Lefever's company also outsourced production to other countries, resulting in massive layoffs.

Lefever, of Lancaster, said he was relieved when SCI let him go.

"I was glad I was leaving," Lefever said. "I wanted to do something else. They did a favor letting me go."

Anderson and Lefever are among the more than 76.1 million Americans born from 1946 to 1964, the generation known as the baby boom.

Labor analysts suggest that there will be shortfall in the U.S. work force in the near future when the bulk of the baby boomers start retiring.

But a 2005 survey by MetLife Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the insurance giant, found that 15 percent of Americans ages 50 to 70 plan never to retire. It also showed that 58 percent of adults in their 50s plan to work during retirement to improve their communities.

Across the country, community colleges are seeing increases in baby boomer enrollment.

According to the American Association of Community Colleges, 16 percent of community college students nationwide are 40 or older, 29 being the average age.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, two in five college students are 25 or older, and an estimated 90 million Americans participate in some form of adult learning each year.

But layoffs aren't the only thing sending older adults back to college, according to AACC. Some need job training for advancement in their careers; others are looking for a career change.

Glen Lum, director of institutional research and development at HACC, said that in fall 2007, 1,448 HACC students were 45 years old or older. That's 7.7 percent of HACC's 18,840 full-time students.

In fact, Lefever said, five of the 22 students in his radiology group are in their late 30s, 40s or 50s.

"There are a lot of older students around campus," he said. "I don't feel out of place."

Lefever entered the medical field because he had a good experience working as a part-time EMT in the mid-1990s.

Though he enjoyed being an EMT, he wasn't ready to give up his full-time job.

"I felt comfortable," he said. "I was making decent money. I had a family and a house. I didn't want to rock the boat."

Anderson said she chose nursing because it is people-oriented and because she had earned a degree in biology from Bloomsburg University before she began at Armstrong.

"I thought that would help," Anderson said. "Plus, I don't like doing the same thing for eight hours. I like variety."

Anderson said there are plenty of jobs available in nursing, another big reason for choosing the field.

"I didn't want to look very hard to find a job after graduating," Anderson said. "I know I'll jump right into one."

After losing their jobs, Anderson and Lefever qualified for free job training for displaced workers through the U.S. Fair Trade Act of 2002.

Before qualifying for school funding through the Fair Trade Act, Anderson and Lefever received money to pay for tuition, books and other school-related expenses through HACC's educational assistance program.

Both Anderson and Lefever said returning to school was an awkward transition at first.

"Initially it was hard going back and learning how to study again," Anderson said.

"I thought I had to be smarter to go to school," Lefever said. "But I adapted. Now I'm getting A's and B's."

He said everything has worked out for the best and he's looking forward to graduating in August.

"This is a new opportunity and a new beginning that I am grateful for," he said.

E-mail: mpennino@lnpnews.com