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 graduated high school in 1980, went to an HBCU, NC A&T State University, in the Fall of 1980. My focus was not on education. I went following my boyfriend. I only attended 1 1/2 years before going back home and working.
Years went by, I continued to work. Became pregnant, married, and from there it was family first and basic living.
I am a very proud mother of amazing educated adult sons, both holding graduate degrees and are entrepreneurs.
I spent my life encouraging, motivating, and inspiring my sons to get their education. To go as far as you can obtaining their education. I did not want them to interrupt their education. I encouraged them to see the world. They already knew what was at home (hometown). They both did just that. And after my youngest son received his graduate degree in Film Production, he decided he wanted to be a Barber, so he moved back home and enrolled in a local Barber program and finished in June 2020 in the midst of the pandemic. He has 6 more months of apprenticeship. Upon receiving his full license, he plans to open his own Barber Shop. He is also a video content creator specializing in promos, wedding music videos, and short films.
I decided to return to my education after becoming an empty nester, having raised my sons, as a single mother when they were ages 5 and 8; and also after being the primary caregiver for my mother who passed away in 2016. I had taken a couple of Photoshop classes several years ago and loved those classes, so I chose the Advertising/Graphic design curriculum. I began in January 2018 and because I work full time am only able to take two classes per semester and summer. It has been what seems like forever, I am excited to say I will graduate in Spring 2022.
My situation may not be unique to many, but it is unique to me. There are many times, at my age of 59, I ask myself why am I doing this? Who cares? why now? Why not just quit? My answer to myself is I quit before. I taught my sons to not quit, to never give up. Give out before giving. I think about that when those negative questions come to my thoughts. Having only a high school diploma, until I follow this venture through satisfactorily completing the course requirements for an AAS Advertising/Graphic Design Degree, I don’t feel I have led my sons by example.
Between my two sons, I’ve been to and cheered them through 7 graduations, from high school through grad school, and Barber school. I have 6 caps/gowns/stoles hanging in my closets. I want the next cap/gown/stole that is worn and comes into my house to be worn by and belong to ME!

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

It has certainly been a journey! I cannot complain. I pay for my own classes. I only take two per semester and summer sessions. I limit myself to two classes to not overwhelm myself because I do work full-time and manage a Scheduling Call Center. There are times when the job can require more of me, but I set clear boundaries, as school is super important to me this time around.

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 is a struggle. Having not been to school in several decades, I realized that I needed to discipline myself to create study time. My entire program has been online. I had to set a study boundary for myself. Homework is due by midnight one night per week. On the due night, I place my phone on Do Not Disturb till midnight.
This allows me to focus on my classwork to make sure I have everything ready to submit if I’m down to the last night to submit. As soon as I leave work, my phone goes on DND. By doing this I don’t hear calls nor texts coming in. If I did, I would spend the majority of my evening chit chatting and texting. It took family and friends a while to understand and some were offended, but this is about me, not them. My sons knew and understood, but they also know that they are exceptions to my rule and I am available for them anytime, even on homework night.

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

Both my sons are entrepreneurs in videography/film/advertising/social media. My goal is to help them with their business after I retire from my current job.

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

Time management is a struggle. Having not been to school in several decades, I realized that I needed to discipline myself to create study time. My entire program has been online. I had to set a study boundary for myself. Homework is due by midnight one night per week. On the due night, I place my phone on Do Not Disturb till midnight. This allows me to focus on my classwork to make sure I have everything ready to submit if I’m down to the last night to submit. As soon as I leave work, my phone goes on DND.

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.