FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Liz Cooper
781-540-1231
ecooper@massbay.edu
WELLESLEY HILLS, Mass. (May 21, 2024) — For Shelly Smith of Dorchester, MA, the path to earning her associate degree in general sciences from MassBay Community College was anything but straightforward. Shelly first enrolled at MassBay Community College in 1994, fresh out of Madison Park High School in Boston, where she had been on the nursing assistant career track. Her initial plan was quickly alerted by life’s challenges.
“I always dreamed of earning my degree and becoming a nurse, because I have a natural gift of caring for others,” Shelly recalls. “But life got in the way — having a baby, going through two failed marriages, and juggling work at nights and on weekends. I kept pushing myself because I wanted to show my daughter the importance of education and perseverance. It’s taken me almost 30 years, but I’m finally finishing what I started, and I have my associate degree. And I will be back at MassBay in the fall to pursue my degree in Nursing, which is the ultimate goal.”
![Shelly and Shelby Smith at Shelly's graduation ceremony]( "Shelly and Shelby Smith at Shelly's graduation ceremony")
MassBay Community College graduate, Shelly Smith, displays her diploma with her daughter Shelby in Boston, MA, May 2024 (Photo/ Shelly Smith)
The road to commencement was far from easy. Shelly faced academic struggles, particularly due to her dyslexia, which made reading and studying more challenging. “I felt unprepared for college after high school,” she admits. “I had to retake math classes and often struggled with the foundational knowledge needed to succeed. But I never gave up. I kept pushing for myself and my daughter Shelby.”
Shelly’s journey included some pauses from classes, as well as a brief stint at Quincy College before she returned to MassBay, where she found a supportive and nurturing environment. “The support at MassBay is incredible,” she says. “The peer tutoring, the help from MassBay Advisors like Lori Cannizzaro and Aaron Riobe — it’s unlike any other college. They genuinely care about the students’ success.”
Her determination and hard work have not gone unnoticed by those around her. “When my diploma arrived, my daughter and I cried together. She is currently studying biomedical engineering at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston and understands how badly I wanted to earn my degree, for the both of us. It was a journey we shared, filled with struggles and triumphs,” she reflects.
Shelly explains her story is not just about earning a degree, “it’s about breaking cycles and setting new standards for us and our children. People often ask, why has it taken so long to earn my degree? I want people to know that failing a class doesn’t make you dumb. We all have different paths, and it’s important to recognize the effort behind the grades. We are creating our own story, mine has just taken a little longer.”
With most of her prerequisites for the Nursing program now complete, Shelly is preparing for the TEAS Test and Chemistry II, the final steps toward entering the MassBay nursing program. “I currently work at Boston Children’s Hospital as a nursing assistant, and I treat my patients with the compassion and care I would want for my own family. My dream is to help people heal and get better, and I’m ready to fight for that dream and make it a reality.”
MassBay Community College is the most affordable higher education option in MetroWest Boston, offering a robust portfolio of courses and more than 70 associate degree and certificate programs with flexible day, evening, and weekend classes in Ashland, Framingham, Wellesley Hills, and online. MassBay students receive an unmatched educational value by earning stackable credits that transfer to bachelor’s degree programs, and workforce-ready skills necessary to advance careers in high-demand fields such as health and life sciences, automotive technology, engineering, business, cybersecurity, and the humanities. MassBay’s Associate Degree in Nursing (RN) and Practical Nursing (LPN) programs were both ranked as the #1 Nursing Program in Massachusetts in 2020, 2021, and 2023 by national nursing advocacy organizations RegisteredNursing.org, and PracticalNursing.org. Since its founding in 1961, MassBay has been accredited by several governing bodies and remains firmly committed to its mission of meeting the needs of the diverse local communities it serves. We value the intrinsic worth of all individuals, collectively in pursuit of inclusiveness and prioritize our work towards achieving equity within our community and beyond.