[Music]
Hi, My name is Charlotte Massiel and this is my daughter Skyla Rose.
I decided to continue to pursue my Bachelor's degree at Rutgers because I wanted a better
future for me and my daughter.
And I wanted to be a role model to her.
My name is Kathleen Vina and this is my son Zachary.
I came back to school when Zachary started kindergarten to give us a brighter future
as a single mom.
My name is Natalia Patel, I'm a mom.
I have three kids.
My oldest is in college, he's 22.
My middle one is in middle school, she's 11.
And I have a baby, we call him a baby, he's my youngest, he's 7.
My father, he passed away 10 years ago from cancer.
And we were very close.
He was my mentor, best friend, my everything.
It was a very difficult and painful experience for me to see him go because I wasn't ready.
That's when I decided that 'I want to cure cancer!'
I want to be a cancer doctor. I want to help families who have been through painful experiences
which I've been through.
And that's the reason I came back to school.
When I came back to Rutgers it was much different because I started at Rutgers a long time ago,
originally in 2005.
So to be back at Rutgers I was first grateful,
I was excited, I was anxious, I was a little nervous because before I came back to Rutgers
in about 2013 I completed my Associate's at a junior college.
So I had to face a few challenges because I was also working full-time and you know,
it's just been an adjustment as far as you know coming to classes during the day as opposed
to taking some of the night classes, reintegrating myself with the culture of Rutgers and a large
university.
My goal was to make sure that my daughter had graduated, which she did, and that my
son had been accepted.
Once that was done, then it was my opportunity.
I was as ready as I could have ever been in my life, knowledge is power.
My mom, she's been working at Rutgers for over 32 years.
She should have retired but she won't.
When I was a little girl I remember, this was back in the late 80s, I would sleep in
the custodian closet because my mom didn't have someone to watch me or the funding to
pay someone to watch me, so being able to graduate is kind of this full circle of my
life where I'm able to close the door.
I'm really excited, I'm very proud of myself, I'm not ashamed to say that because it's been
a long time.
And from the time, I would say, I was around 5
I always wanted to go to Rutgers.
It's been my first choice and it's honestly my first choice for grad school as well which
is where I'll be continuing as a grad student.
I feel really great having achieved my goals and still being able to further my education
with the help of my parents and still having my son.
I'm just very happy, I can't describe it any other way.
I'm really overjoyed.
For me it's not just about the book smarts, it's about the experiences that you also have
within being a student in college.
What made it very easy for me was because I wanted to experience what I was pushing
my kids to do.
I wanted to lead by example, and I wanted to understand from their perspective what it
was like to go to college.
I definitely want to work in the field of Labor to help other mothers find jobs that
are suitable for them and their family life style.
This is my daughter Isabella and she's watched my for 7 years now struggling with schoolwork
and trying to be there for her, because she's ask me can I, 'Mommy can you read me this
book?' and I'd say 'Yeah, I'll be right there.'
but I'm so into what I'm writing that I can't break my concentration.
By the time I'm finished and I walk over she's sound asleep.
The guilt, you know, it hurts but at the same time we look towards the future and realize
that it's worth it.
With Commencement coming up I feel more rewarded and fulfilled than I could have ever imagined.
I'm very excited about graduation!
Moreso because it is on Mothers' Day!
I think earned where I am, my place in Rutgers, among graduates of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry,
and I certainly earned my status as Mom!
[music]