Online student achieves lifelong goal of earning BGSU degree

Fifteen years after first enrolling, Mariah Kerrin will become a first-generation college graduate

For years, Mariah Kerrin carried the burden of leaving college before earning her degree, and she was beginning to feel stuck.

When others in her social circle had something to celebrate – new jobs, graduations, promotions – she sometimes declined to join because it was a painful reminder that she had once been on the same track.

“All my friends had finished their degrees and were moving up in their career fields, and I didn’t feel comfortable enough to even go celebrate their accomplishments with them,” Kerrin said. “I felt like, ‘Wow, I haven’t done anything.’”

Years later, Kerrin decided it was time to change her situation: She wanted to earn her degree, and she wanted to go back to Bowling Green State University.

All it took was a phone call she had been avoiding for years.

When BGSU Online advisor Leanne Huckaby answered, Kerrin let it all out.

“I started crying and poured my heart out on the phone to Miss Leanne, but I had finally worked up the courage and called,” Kerrin said. “I told her I was a former student who was there for three years and I still want to finish my degree, and I want that degree to be from BGSU.”

At age 33, Kerrin will do just that.

She is slated to earn her degree in management and technology from BGSU this year, the completion of a difficult but vastly rewarding journey.

Kerrin resumed her studies through BGSU Online, which allows students to complete their coursework in a 100% online environment and pursue degrees at their own pace.

When a student calls and isn’t quite sure how to re-engage with their academic career, Huckaby said a key role of BGSU Online is to help connect them to resources and set a course that matches their life.

“When we get a student like Mariah who doesn’t know exactly how to get going, we want to help them get acclimated with all the resources they have at BGSU,” Huckaby said. “That’s why we’re here.”

For Kerrin, the path to graduation day included becoming a mother during the coronavirus pandemic while working full-time and pursuing a degree – three roles she successfully embraced during her time as a BGSU Online student.

Huckaby said many nontraditional students believe that going back to school is too challenging to fit into an existing life, but the BGSU Online team serves as living, breathing examples that obtaining a degree is possible at any stage of life and from anywhere in the United States.

“Our team is filled with people who were nontraditional working adults who went back to school,” Huckaby said. “We’re very open about sharing our experiences as nontraditional students, which I think helps students connect to a real person. You may not be able to be here and shake my hand, but we have that kinship because we share a mutual experience.”

Kerrin credits her grandparents, Charlotte and Donald Swayne, who raised her and her younger brother, as well her cousin, Tiffany Travillion, all of whom provided invaluable support in her life.

Now, as an adult, Kerrin can look back on the challenges of being a first-generation college student with clarity.

She started her college career like many BGSU freshmen: she moved into the dorms, she made friends, she enjoyed all that campus had to offer and she stayed on course academically.

A naturally social person, Kerrin appeared to be thriving in college to those around her. But in reality, Kerrin was struggling financially and feeling deeply intimidated by a lack of security in her life.

By her junior year, the weight of indecision led Kerrin to unenroll and return to her native Columbus, where she made her own way and secured full-time employment.

“I knew I was ultimately responsible for myself, but when I left to go to college, I knew I didn’t have many people back home who could help me financially, so I thought everything was on me – and I carried that burden,” she said. “Really, I was just barely getting by and making it look good for a while.”

As she prepares to graduate this year, Kerrin said she is proud to share her story to encourage other first-generation students to keep going and seek out help If they need assistance.

The first time around, Kerrin said she struggled in silence.

“Not once before I left school did I advocate for myself or even inquire about help,” she said. “I was always the type of kid who could focus and didn’t need anybody to hold their hand, but I never knew how much better off I would be with support.”

As a BGSU Online student, Kerrin is actively communicating with her professors, asking for help and using the resources available to her – which has made a major difference in her success.

At BGSU, which the Wall Street Journal ranked as the No. 1 public university in Ohio for student experience, all online students are offered personalized support and the flexibility to earn a degree on their own terms.

“I will say that my experience as a nontraditional student has been very engaging and very fulfilling,” Kerrin said. “Each professor I’ve had has let me know they are available, and the relationships and friendships I have built with my classmates have spoken volumes. I want younger students to know that the support is there, even if you may not have support at home.”

As an online student, Kerrin used communication, one of her top skills, to achieve her goal of obtaining a degree.

“I think it was a big part of her success knowing that she had a team behind her who was there for even the smallest little concern or question,” Huckaby said. “Mariah just thrives in this environment because she is willing to communicate.”

When Kerrin walks across the stage at commencement, her degree will represent not only a meaningful life goal, but also the realization of something bigger.

Fifteen years after first enrolling and many obstacles later, Kerrin will be a BGSU graduate.

“I finally got the ball back rolling,” Kerrin said. “Knowing my university was able to welcome me back with such open arms and support me every step of the way has been truly amazing.”