Please tell Back to School Divas a little bit about yourself and your back to school story. What made you go back to school? What makes your back to school experience unique?

I am a single mom of two (boy and girl), 32 years old. I have always wanted to obtain my degree in Accounting, but I kept putting it off for no valid reason, other than I hate writing essays. I was working with a telecommunications company when I decided to go back to school. I was not happy in my current position or department. I wanted out but as much as I applied with other companies, I never got a callback. One day I came across an ad for the University in my area, and I thought, “what’s the worst that can happen? Let me apply and see how this goes” …I got accepted, I was excited and nervous because I felt I was too old to start university. I sucked it up and completed my first semester. Shortly after, I was granted a full scholarship and got a job offer at another company within their finance department. I am now in my second year with one semester left to complete my associates then I am on to my bachelor’s degree.

Has your back to school experience been a smooth journey? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?

Thankfully, my experience has been smooth. I have family and friends that encourage me when I feel like throwing in the towel and remind me why I started in the first place.

Tell us about some time management, study, or money-saving tips that helped you make it to where you are in your journey.

Time management was always a problem for me, I am a procrastinator. I had to discipline myself to stay off social media and put my phone down so that I could focus on my assignments or to spend that ‘social media’ time studying. It is still somewhat of a struggle now, but I use apps that help with keeping track of study time (Flora) and Notion as a planner and ‘to-do’ list for assignments. Whenever I can, I try to stay ahead by reading the chapter that will be discussed before class and making some notes; that way, I understand what the lecturer is discussing.

Tell us about your career goals. What do you plan to do with your degree once you finish?

I will be working towards becoming a CPA. Though, I have been thinking of going into law as well. But I will wait to see where life leads me.

If you had to start over, what would you have done differently?

I would not do anything differently; I feel that I am more mature now, and I take my studies more seriously.

The heart of our mission is to encourage other women on their back to school journeys. The goal of Featured Diva is to celebrate women who are making their academic dreams come true in hopes that other women will find encouragement to strive toward their goals.