Hi everyone,

My name is Naji, I am 32 years old and a mother of 3, ages 13, 11, and 8.  I also work fulltime and this is my 2nd semester at SPS. I work as a case manager for students that are on public assistance at LaGuardia Community College.  I try to guide them on meeting college degree goals and meet HRA requirements so that they can graduate and get jobs.  

In 2005 I attended LaGuardia Community College with the mind set of becoming an EMT/Paramedic.  With being a single mother and juggling 2 little ones at the time with no support, was hard!  Not to mention figuring out that EMT/Paramedic was not for me, therefore I dropped out from college.  I thought to myself, how can I do this?? I have to get a job and support my little girls.  So that’s what I did,  I went to work.  After a few months I met a wonderful man that embraced my girls and myself, and helped my get back on my feet. After I had our son and got married, I told him I wanted to work and go back to school, he said “GO AHEAD, I’M HERE, I’LL SUPPORT YOU!”

In 2009 was when I decided to come back to school and finish, at first it was hard to juggle family obligations, work and school but I did it. After completing my Associates degree in business, I decided to put my education on hold again and devote my time to my children since they were still little and needed me most. Especially with this rigorist new common core curriculum.

After a few years of just working and providing for my family, my boss suggested for me to continue my education.  She said since she is planning to retire soon, this would be a great opportunity to get my BA and perhaps continue in her foot steps in becoming the Director of our program. So why not? I thought, I did it before.

Since this is my second semester with the SPS family, I decided to take on three courses.  I figured that if I was able to succeed last semester with two courses, why not push myself a little more and try for three courses.  I am determined to work hard.  While time management and organization being my strength, I still find it hard to manage time with full-time employment, being a care provider for my children, and maintaining my home.  However I am blessed to have a family that supports me in helping achieve this goal, so I can better myself in the workforce along with showing my children how education is key to success.  

Best,

Naji