Cassandra Woods

Cassandra Woods, 36, will graduate with a Human Services degree in December and will finally reach her goal – one that she hadn’t even thought to strive for a short few years ago.

The single mother of four – an avowed “late bloomer” – decided she needed to change her life. She had to leave her past – which included some challenges in life.

“Being a late bloomer, I knew I would have to get a college degree to take myself to the point where I could get a decent-paying job,” says Woods.

“I had a whole lot of fear of coming to school. I was wondering whether the students would be looking at me because I was older than they were or whether they would think they were smarter than I was. I just reached a point where I made a decision to go for it.”

She began on that road by enrolling in Gateway Technical College. She chose Human Services because she wanted to give back to her community.

Woods used several Gateway programs and services to help her reach her goal. Experienced instructors initially calmed her fears, telling her she indeed could succeed if she worked hard.

“They gave me the motivation to keep going,” says Woods. “They told me that sometimes it would be hard and I might think it won’t work out – but don’t quit, keep going and keep striving. They said ‘Cassandra, you can do it.’”

Gateway tuition was affordable and some of the programs provided by the college – specifically student work-study – allowed her to financially continue to study and raise her four children.

Gateway student support services also helped Woods.

“The Academic Support Center helped me immensely,” says Woods. “I would go in there and ask about things I just didn’t understand about math. I am not good at math. They helped me with some other classes, too.”

Finally, Woods points to a diverse student population and a number of opportunities for students to become involved as a final way Gateway helped her succeed. Woods was the vice president of the Human Services Club and a member of the Racine Student Government Association.

“My life today is so broad,” says Woods. “Before, it was in a box. I couldn’t see outside of those walls I was living in. I was closed in. Being exposed to the club I was in and meeting and talking with a lot of instructors and talking to a lot of students really helped me.

“Anything that works against you can also work for you once you learn the principle to reverse.”

Woods is the first person in her mother’s family to graduate from a technical college. She credits Gateway’s student support services, her instructors and the diverse student population as having helped her reach her goal.

Says Woods: “My life turned around. I feel that now I can conquer the world.”

 

 

Updated: 10/27/2008 | Comment about this page.