CHARLOTTE — Raegan Ferro and Amanda Thompson are two of Queens University’s newest nursing grads. Their journey to graduate from college hasn’t been linear, but it has been worth it.
Both women started college in their younger days, but life got in the way.
“I dropped out due to financial reasons and then joined the Marine Corps,” Thompson said.
“I dropped out of college and got two jobs to help a loved one during a really hard time in his life,” said Ferro. “And my dream to go back to school never left, and finish something I started.”
They both went on to have families, but eventually found their way back to higher education and specifically, nursing.
“I always had a dream of going into the medical field and I always wanted to help people,” said Ferro.
For Thompson, her third child’s birth set her further on this path.
“I hemorrhaged, and almost died and it was my midwife who saved my life,” Thompson said. “I’m here, I’m graduating and now I have a job at labor and delivery so I kind of full circle get to give that back to others.”
The mothers credit scholarships and support from the nonprofit ANSWER Scholarship, founded by Susan Andersen, with helping get them to this point.
“Since 2006 we’ve helped over over 114 women and we have provided over $630,000 in scholarship support,” Andersen said.
The program is specifically for mothers raising school-aged children, aiming to change not just the mother’s life, but their whole family.
Applications for the scholarship program are now open. You can find more information here.
(WATCH BELOW: College financial program gives students opportunity to graduate debt-free)
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