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Cori Garrett-Goodyear G'23
Within each of our Bay Path community members is an inspirational story of perseverance and strength, and we are honored to share them. This narrative originally appeared as part of Bay Path's #MyPath on social media.
"Before my kids were born, I started revisiting my writing, which I had always enjoyed doing, but never really thought about pursuing professionally. I was getting a lot of encouragement from family, friends, and coworkers to explore opportunities, and while I'm very content with my professional life, I craved additional and more consistent intellectual stimulation. Thankfully, my full-time job was flexible enough to consider a part-time Master of Fine Arts program. Shortly after beginning the application process, I discovered I was pregnant with my first child.
"I put the dream of pursuing my master's on hiatus while I figured out new motherhood. But when my daughter was about a year old, she became my inspiration for completing the application process. My daughter was the biggest accomplishment of my life. I was so proud of her, and wanted to do something I felt she could look at me and be proud of.
"When I realized Bay Path University had an entirely online program - and offered a summer writing seminar in Ireland – it was my obvious choice. I began the program in 2019, took the academic 2021-22 year off for the birth of my son, and will complete my final semester and receive my degree this May.
"The Bay Path MFA community is safe, supportive, and diverse. There's critique without judgment, which is essential in the writing process. I'm worried that when I no longer have deadlines, academic expectations, and an organized writing community, I’ll struggle to keep up with my writing. With that in mind for everyone, one of our assignments this past year was to develop our Writer's Path and make a writer's contract for ourselves to honor our writing goals after the program ends.
"I hesitate to call myself a writer. I feel like I write well, enjoy writing, and am in a writing program, but I have to take that leap of faith. A lot of the writing I do is about family. My mother, who died suddenly when I was 15, was an English professor at Smith College and a writer herself. The development of my relationship with writing feels very connected to her. My kids will only know my mom through what I tell them. I want to tell her story – and mine – thoughtfully and honestly to keep that memory alive for my kids, and through my kids." - Cori Garrett-Goodyear G'23 #MyPath