Full-Time Job, 3 Kids, 10 Rescue Pets and A Dream
West Greenwich’s Almeida Completes Her Degree and Pursues an MSW
Amy Almeida has a full-time job, two volunteer positions, three children, 10 special needs rescue pets and one very big dream: to earn a college degree. Soon, her dream will come true. How she’s achieving it in the midst of her many other responsibilities is nothing short of inspirational – and a great example to follow for anyone else who wants to do the same.
Almeida is a single mother from West Greenwich, RI. Six years ago, she took a position as a payroll clerk at Providence College. It was then that she decided the time was right to go back to school, fueled by the encouragement of her supervisor and a passion to prove to those who doubted her that she could do it.
“My supervisor really encouraged me to further my education and helped me realize that I could do it. I didn’t have the support of my family at the time. They thought I was taking on too much. But when someone says ‘don’t do it,’ I do it!,” Almeida says. “Within three months of starting my job at PC, I enrolled in the College’s School of Continuing Education.”
Almeida says she’s always enjoyed working in business, so she enrolled in the Professional Studies bachelor’s degree program at PC’s School of Continuing Education (SCE). She earned a certificate in Accounting as part of the program in 2017 and has completed her studies.
“It hasn’t always been easy, of course, but it is so worth it. My oldest is 17 now and my twins are 14. I want them to be proud of me and to know that they can do anything they put their mind to. I’ve made the Dean’s list numerous times, but it takes hard work and that’s what I’m trying to show them – hard work pays off.”
That work ethic has Almeida already setting her sights on what comes next. She earned her bachelor’s at PC and is now enrolled in graduate school to pursue a master’s in social work (MSW).
“I just figured, I’d better keep going and keep up the momentum,” she says. “I love my job at PC but I also really love to help others. I volunteer with Help the Homeless Rhode Island, and that experience has shown me that I enjoy working with the homeless and the elderly. So my long-term plan is to become a social worker so that I can assist them even more than I am now.”
In addition to her volunteer work at Homeless Rhode Island, Almeida also volunteers at Exeter Animal Shelter and does hospice care for pets – which is how she’s come to have 10 special needs pets of her own at home.
How has she managed to go back to school while juggling all of this? Almeida says that for her, a major key to success has been in adopting the right mindset.
“For me, simply deciding to make the time to invest in myself was huge. You have to make time, just like you make the time for working out or going to the grocery store. It’s difficult sometimes, especially at first, but once you carve out that time it’s easy and the rewards are invaluable.”
“Even as a single parent, I’ve found it to actually be very rewarding,” Almeida says. “It’s my get-away time, my ‘me time.’ There’s this gap between when I get out of work and when my evening classes begin, when I can go to the gym and then meet up with some of my classmates and have dinner right before class. For me it works, but I make it work because I put my education right behind my children in importance.”
Supportive classmates, faculty and resources are the other secrets to her success.
“Having other adult students like me to lean on and study with has been wonderful. I’ve met some of my best friends in life at SCE, three people who I met during my very first class. We’ve gone through college together, we’ve been there for each other through all of it, and that can be a saving grace in those moments when you’re having a hard time. And now, even though they’ve already graduated, they’re still a part of my life,” she says.
“The professors at PC SCE make all the difference as well,” Almeida says. “Jessica Geier is seriously a life-changing professor. She taught the capstone class in my program, which helped me find the direction for my career that would make me most happy. That’s how I decided to pivot a bit from business to social work. I’m doing it already as a volunteer, simply because it makes me happy. So why not make it my career? I wish I had found that type of direction in my twenties.”
Last but not least, Almeida says that having educational supports available to her was key.
“Going back to school as an adult, after not being in a classroom for years, can be daunting. I found it so helpful to know that I had supports available to me that I could use whenever I needed them,” Almeida says. “I struggled with writing, but we have the most amazing writing center at PC. We have wonderful tutors who are there to help you, they’re very down to earth and helpful. It’s so important, especially in the beginning, to reach out for help and not overwhelm yourself.”
“I would encourage anyone to go back to school,” she says. “It has been an amazing journey for me, and if I can do it, anyone can!”
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