Bethany Backer '21 G'24

"I am from Suffield, Connecticut. My parents married at a very young age. It was a one-income household growing up with four kids. We had a rough go of it a lot of times, but we always made it work. I would work odd jobs, help extra people out to get things I wanted like buying my first Clarinet."

"I graduated high school in 2004, not knowing that you could get student loans if you didn't have good credit. So, I worked three part-time jobs to build my credit to get loans. At 21, I became a single mother to my son Silas. By the time he was four months old, I knew I couldn't work multiple part-time jobs and take care of him."

"I finished my associate's degree in 2012 and knew I wanted to go for my bachelor's. But just before courses were supposed to start, they pushed the start date back by six months. I didn't want to wait, so I enrolled in Bay Path Saturday program, and that's where my Bay Path journey started. My son, at this point, was 2 years old, nonverbal, and diagnosed with autism, which kind of flipped everything, he needed intensive therapy, and he would also need to be in a full-day preschool program."

"In 2015, I ended up getting a job that was very convenient with his schedule for school, gave us more than we had ever had financially, an ability to support him by myself, and allowed me to support him independently."

"What was supposed to be a year off from Bay Path turned into six. But the job that I had found began requiring me to work Saturdays actually led me to meeting my husband, and in April 2020, during the height of COVID we welcomed our daughter. We decided that the best and kind of only option for our family at that time was that I stayed home.

"That's when I discovered the American Women's College and enrolled online, where I earned my degree from Bay Path. In 2022, I graduated with my bachelor's degree. Upon graduation, I entered back into the working world with new skills where I was able to reach an entirely new level of security for my family"

"No one in my family had gone to college, so I didn't know what loans to apply for or what the process entailed. I've been able to go through pretty much my entire degree path up until this point without taking out loans, because I had so much stability. I'm grateful that I didn't go right to that because I probably would have gotten into a situation where I wouldn't be where I am today.

"I didn't know that Pell Grants would cover most of college or that I didn't need fantastic grades to get grants. The flexibility of online classes helped me succeed, especially with my family responsibilities. During my MBA program, I made lifelong connections and had classmates from around the world."

"With my MBA, I was able to negotiate a higher salary and flexible vacation time. I wanted to give my kids the things I never had, like traveling the world and trying new activities. Through my MBA, I realized I wanted to teach, and connections with my professors led me to teach in the MBA program."

"My biggest piece of advice is to raise your hand whether you have a question and you need the answer. Asked whether you have an idea that you think would help if there's an opportunity to volunteer or be part of something."

"It has been a long journey, but I am thrilled to share that Silas and I will be graduating together! He will be graduating from high school at the same time I complete my doctorate."