At one point during graduate school at Norfolk State University, Michelle Happer, who was working two jobs and caring for a paralyzed son, came across a book that seemed to speak directly to her: Have You Felt Like Giving Up Lately?
“That’s exactly how I felt, [but] I had a lot of support from my church family and different professors,” she says. “We’re just standing upon our faith; that’s about all we can do.”
After several trying years, Happer, a 38-year-old first-generation student, earned her master’s degree this spring in media communications, with a minor in public relations from Norfolk State University.
Michelle earned her bachelor’s in interdisciplinary studies at NSU in December of 2004 with the assistance of a program called the Reclamation Project. The program is for anyone who has been out of school for at least 10 years but did not complete a degree. Happer, who had previously pursued a career in social work, combined those credits with English and journalism courses to earn her degree.
“It’s a program where you come back and you can actually pick up where you left off,” says Happer, who worked three jobs simultaneously while an undergraduate. “I had such a good experience in the reclamation project, and just so much support, that it gave me the confidence to take it a little higher.”
Tragically, the day before her undergraduate graduation, her teenage son Mark, then a first-year student at Virginia Union University, was shot and paralyzed in a road rage incident. He was traveling home for Christmas and to celebrate his mother’s graduation.
