When Bethany Baxter started her journey at Northern Kentucky University in 1999, she was undecided on what her future would hold. Then, over the course of the next few years, she felt like the choice was made for her – raising two children and working full time, Bethany’s educational aspirations became secondary to everything else.

“I tried to go to school, but it didn’t work out because kids take full attention,” she says. “So 2004 was the last time I took a class. I never thought I would have any sort of degree. I pretty much assumed I would be a mom, that’s it, which is not a bad thing, but I wanted more.”

But then a few years ago, she mentioned to her boss at American Risk Services that she’d like to one day pick up where she left off with her educational journey. And she was surprised with his response.

“He said, ‘You figure out what classes you need to take and we will figure it out from there.’” She had the full support of her employer, but an even more important conversation was to come. She needed to talk with her family. “I told them the same as I told my boss – I would like to go back to school,” she says.” “My daughter was like, ‘Do it! I want you to get your degree.’”

She applied again, and was accepted, to NKU to pursue her associate degree, where Bethany met with an academic advisor, something she had not done in over a decade.

“When you talk to the advisor, they ask, ‘What do you want’ and ‘What’s your degree going to be?’ Well, I was still undecided!” Hitting another bump in her academic journey, she once again turned to her boss to figure out which majors would both fit her interests and benefit her job performance. Settling on an associate degree in pre-business, followed by a bachelor’s degree in human resource management, Bethany resumed her academic career at NKU in 2015.

Returning to school after a decade-long absence was nerve-racking, but the support of her employer and family made it an enjoyable experience. “I think it was the same time my daughter was going back to school, she and my mother went out and bought my school supplies,” she says. “For them to surprise me like that, and for my kids to be mature, without that I would not have been able to pull it off. It’s a blessing.”

Bethany graduated with her associate degree in pre-business in August, a dream she never thought she’d realize 10 years ago. She is currently working toward her bachelor’s degree in human resource management and plans to graduate again in three to four years.

“My family is sick and tired of hearing, ‘I’m a college graduate!” she laughs. “I said it for about two months straight.”