Student Story: Kristina Chase
"Mary always says when she calls me it sounds like craziness in the background with all my kids, but somehow I always seem so happy. Truth is I am happy, because I found the school for me. I found a school full of real, honest, loving people who care about their students and their success.”
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There are a lot of things that can stop you from reaching your goals, or make it seem almost impossible to accomplish them. For instance, having a bad marriage where you do all the work ranging from carrying a job and paying the bills, to taking care of the house and watching the kids with absolutely no help can ultimately end in divorce. Raising children on you own and being a single mother is another challenge that can seem almost impossible to handle while trying to better yourself. Family tragedy and death can cause complications as well. The bottom line is that there are more things that make it hard to accomplish your dreams than there are things that make it easier.
My name is Kristina Chase, and everything I just described I have already been through. I can tell you that going through all of this when you have a plan for a brighter tomorrow is hard. But living through it and never losing sight of what you want for yourself is an awesome thing.
Four years ago, I was married with a three-year old, a newborn, and a husband that did not help me do anything at all. I moved out and got a divorce, taking on the role of the single mother. Granted it was hard, but I worked at it and got my life where I needed it to be and decided I was ready to go to school to better my life. At this point it had been three years of me working and raising my kids on my own and I figured I could finally handle it. The piece of the puzzle that was missing was my now ten-month old son. Right after I made the decision to go back to school I found out I was pregnant with him and, once again, I had to wait to go back to school for the sake of the baby and my daily routine.
My now fiance who was my boyfriend at the time was completely supportive of the idea of me going back to school so he told me whenever I was ready he would be there for me. So, you guessed it, eight months later I hit the road running and went right for my dream.
I found Ivy Bridge College by browsing the internet, and it was the best thing that had ever happened to me. The support system is amazing at Ivy Bridge—they have success coaches, tutors, and access to your professors who help you accomplish your goals. My success coach is Mary Youngs, and I actually think of her as one of my really good friends. This woman has been there for me through thick and thin and she talks to me about my life when she calls me and keeps my spirits and faith in myself up more than I could ever imagine.
Just to give you an idea of how great this school actually is let me tell you about a tragedy that struck in my first semester here at Ivy Bridge. My brother called me one day around 11 am to tell me his wife, who was 24-weeks pregnant at the time, had slipped into a coma from having preeclamptic seizures and that they had to do an emergency C-section to save the baby. My sister in law was in a coma for almost two days and we had no idea if she would wake up or if she did, if she would be ok. The baby on the other hand was doing great with no problems whatsoever, so we were trying to keep faith alive. She finally woke up and was completely healthy, thank God, and was able to visit her little boy every day. However, four weeks later my nephew passed away due to a small hole in his intestines.
Our family was in so much pain and Mary (my success coach) was there to listen to me, talk to me, and just be a friend. I even got a card in the mail from the whole success team at Ivy Bridge, signed and with condolences on the inside. The people here at Ivy Bridge really care about who you are, what you are going through, and how to help you. I will not lie, the work load is just that, a work load especially when you have kids and work, and I always have work to do, but it is worth it. I have help if I need it, I talk to Mary at least once a week, she calls just to see how things are going and offer support which is awesome, and there are tutors and my teachers who are hands-on—no lie, they interact with me and the class and help us all along.
Mary always says when she calls me it sounds like craziness in the background with all my kids, but somehow I always seem so happy. Truth is I am happy, because I found the school for me. I found a school full of real, honest, loving people who care about their students and their success. I am happily on my way to a criminal justice degree—Finally, after all these crazy years! And I’m doing it all while juggling my crazy life, but to me it is crazy beautiful!
Ivy Bridge College has helped turn my dreams into a reality. My dreams are finally in reach. Ivy Bridge makes it easy to structure your day and to fit the work in. They give you outlets to help you so you don’t fail. They truly are a great school. I could not be happier with my experience here at Ivy Bridge. No matter what your situation is, they help make your dreams come full circle.
There are a lot of things that can stop you from reaching your goals, or make it seem almost impossible to accomplish them. For instance, having a bad marriage where you do all the work ranging from carrying a job and paying the bills, to taking care of the house and watching the kids with absolutely no help can ultimately end in divorce. Raising children on you own and being a single mother is another challenge that can seem almost impossible to handle while trying to better yourself. Family tragedy and death can cause complications as well. The bottom line is that there are more things that make it hard to accomplish your dreams than there are things that make it easier.My name is Kristina Chase, and everything I just described I have already been through. I can tell you that going through all of this when you have a plan for a brighter tomorrow is hard. But living through it and never losing sight of what you want for yourself is an awesome thing.
Four years ago, I was married with a three-year old, a newborn, and a husband that did not help me do anything at all. I moved out and got a divorce, taking on the role of the single mother. Granted it was hard, but I worked at it and got my life where I needed it to be and decided I was ready to go to school to better my life. At this point it had been three years of me working and raising my kids on my own and I figured I could finally handle it. The piece of the puzzle that was missing was my now ten-month old son. Right after I made the decision to go back to school I found out I was pregnant with him and, once again, I had to wait to go back to school for the sake of the baby and my daily routine.
My now fiance who was my boyfriend at the time was completely supportive of the idea of me going back to school so he told me whenever I was ready he would be there for me. So, you guessed it, eight months later I hit the road running and went right for my dream.
I found Ivy Bridge College by browsing the internet, and it was the best thing that had ever happened to me. The support system is amazing at Ivy Bridge—they have success coaches, tutors, and access to your professors who help you accomplish your goals. My success coach is Mary Youngs, and I actually think of her as one of my really good friends. This woman has been there for me through thick and thin and she talks to me about my life when she calls me and keeps my spirits and faith in myself up more than I could ever imagine.
Just to give you an idea of how great this school actually is let me tell you about a tragedy that struck in my first semester here at Ivy Bridge. My brother called me one day around 11 am to tell me his wife, who was 24-weeks pregnant at the time, had slipped into a coma from having preeclamptic seizures and that they had to do an emergency C-section to save the baby. My sister in law was in a coma for almost two days and we had no idea if she would wake up or if she did, if she would be ok. The baby on the other hand was doing great with no problems whatsoever, so we were trying to keep faith alive. She finally woke up and was completely healthy, thank God, and was able to visit her little boy every day. However, four weeks later my nephew passed away due to a small hole in his intestines.
Our family was in so much pain and Mary (my success coach) was there to listen to me, talk to me, and just be a friend. I even got a card in the mail from the whole success team at Ivy Bridge, signed and with condolences on the inside. The people here at Ivy Bridge really care about who you are, what you are going through, and how to help you. I will not lie, the work load is just that, a work load especially when you have kids and work, and I always have work to do, but it is worth it. I have help if I need it, I talk to Mary at least once a week, she calls just to see how things are going and offer support which is awesome, and there are tutors and my teachers who are hands-on—no lie, they interact with me and the class and help us all along.
Mary always says when she calls me it sounds like craziness in the background with all my kids, but somehow I always seem so happy. Truth is I am happy, because I found the school for me. I found a school full of real, honest, loving people who care about their students and their success. I am happily on my way to a criminal justice degree—Finally, after all these crazy years! And I’m doing it all while juggling my crazy life, but to me it is crazy beautiful!
Ivy Bridge College has helped turn my dreams into a reality. My dreams are finally in reach. Ivy Bridge makes it easy to structure your day and to fit the work in. They give you outlets to help you so you don’t fail. They truly are a great school. I could not be happier with my experience here at Ivy Bridge. No matter what your situation is, they help make your dreams come full circle.
Kristina is a current student in Ivy Bridge College's Associate of Criminal Justice degree program.
