Schar School Graduate—and Grandmother—Reaches Goal of Bachelor’s Degree

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At 72, Irma Garcia will walk across the stage to receive a bachelor's degree decades in the making. For her, earning a bachelor's degree in public administration degree from the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University was never a straight path. But it was always a goal; education is very important to her family.

Irma Garcia earns her bachelor's degree at age 72.

Originally from Puerto Rico, Garcia moved to the Washington, D.C., area in 1978 to raise her three young daughters. Settling in Virginia, she worked many different jobs-mainly in local government and nonprofits-after earning a general studies degree from Northern Virginia Community College.

"What I really wanted to do was to help people," she said. "I started getting jobs closer to what I enjoyed, which was giving services to people in need."

Garcia also took a couple of classes at George Mason while she worked-sometimes two jobs-and took care of her family. But she had to hit pause.

"I stopped because it was just too hard for me," she said. "I was just tired."

Life continued but circling in the back of Garcia's mind was the goal of earning a bachelor's degree. Five years ago, she enrolled in the Schar School choosing public administration as her major. Her eight grandchildren, five of whom have graduated from college, encouraged her.

"They gave me all kinds of tips," she said. "They were very happy to see me go to school."

Garcia says she never felt hesitant about returning to the classroom as a nontraditional student.

"I love school," she said. "I had a great time with my classmates. I was accepted and I made friendships. I just felt like I was in a room full of grandchildren. I was the abuela."

Irma Garcia (far left) with her three daughters

Garcia notes that many of her classmates came from a similar background as hers and they too juggled jobs with academics.

"Half of my friends who go to school with me, most of them are either immigrants or their parents are," she said. "They are working but you see them in school every day."

Garcia took classes through the Senior Citizen Waiver Program and praises her advisors, Ann Ludwick and Jana Biever, and the Registrar's Office for assisting her and keeping her on track.

"I had a lot of questions about what classes to take and they were very supportive," she said. "They were very informative and always processed my requests quickly and easily."

Now, Garcia looks forward to the Schar School's Degree Celebration on May 16. She will have her own cheering section, with one of her daughters and three grandchildren in attendance.

Even though she is semi-retired, Garcia would like to continue to give back and find a part-time position at a nonprofit organization.

"That has been what I've enjoyed the most," she said, "helping people use the resources available to them to become self-sufficient."

Garcia's educational journey has now come full circle. While the route to a bachelor's degree sometimes challenged her, the achievement of earning it feels wonderful.

"For me, as a single mom raising three daughters by myself, it was very hard," she said. "But if you want to do it, you can find ways of doing it. Maybe it won't happen immediately. I would just tell people whatever they dream, try to achieve it. It can be done."