Meet the Graduate: Helen Agbapuruonwu with a Mother’s Day Message

This is the last week of NOVA’s Spring Semester and final exams are underway. Mother’s Day is this Sunday and NOVA will hold its 56th commencement ceremony to recognize the hard work and achievement of more than 3,800 students next Sunday, May 15.

For Mother’s Day, we want to celebrate one of our graduating students, who is also a mother. Her name is Helen Agbapuruonwu and she will be receiving her Associate of Applied Science degree in Early Childhood Development at commencement.

She was helped in her journey at NOVA by receiving a scholarship from the Herb Block Foundation and three NOVA scholarships, the Linda J. Romeo Memorial Endowed Scholarship and two Gupta Values Scholarship and Mary Hanrahan Eula Miller Early Childhood Memorial Scholarships.

Helen shares her story below with a special message for her children and for other student mothers.

I was a stay-at-home mom until my youngest daughter started school. I was raising my children and I wanted to improve myself to show that their mom can support her children. I was working with children in a pre-school and I liked helping them.

I was encouraged by the director of the pre-school to earn a degree in early childhood education. So, I started at NOVA in January 2020. I am proud of myself.

I have enjoyed my experience at NOVA and it has been wonderful. I love that NOVA is the place for anybody to become someone. I feel safe and accepted. As a mom, I wanted to become someone who could inspire my children.

Any mom that crosses my path, I encourage them to attend NOVA and discover who you are and what you can become. I am happy and grateful to be part of NOVA.

I am so grateful for these scholarships. My husband did not think I could do it, so being able to get these has helped me financially to allow me to be able to go to school and not work at the same time.

The scholarships have gone a long way to allow me to comfortably and confidently pay for my tuition and books and supplies. You have to pay back financial aid, but scholarships reduce the amount of financial aid you need.

I took a break last Fall from the pre-school. By this Fall when I finish up, I can return. I plan to transfer to George Mason University to get a BA degree and become a full-time preschool teacher, then to work my way up the ladder to become a director of a pre-school.

I have definitely inspired my kids in ways that have helped them to be committed to their own education. I do tell them often times that if mommy in her forties can go back to school, take her classes, study for her quizzes and exam, and pass all her courses with excellent grades, they too can do much better because they are younger and vibrant!

So, my strength and courage has made them strong in their schooling and I encourage them to always strive for the best. The sky is their limit!

As a mom and student at NOVA, I am proud of my achievements and accomplishments. As a mom, there are challenges I faced not only taking care of my family and taking less care of my career path, but courage and positive attitude surpassed those challenges. Courage – we all need it to thrive.

I cheer all student moms and encourage them to continue doing your best. You know what, if I can do it with four kids and take all my classes, trust me, you can do it also. So, let nothing stop you in achieving your goals at NOVA. The future is bright!

I was able to enroll at NOVA despite all the challenges I faced, but never giving up. That is perseverance – I have made it through all my classes and will be graduating and participating in the commencement ceremony. It is amazing and I am grateful to God!

So, all mothers out there and in our NOVA community, keep doing your best to achieve your goals!

Reprinted from the NOVA Foundation Newsletter