WS Chronicle

Alicia T. Clinton earned her undergraduate degree from Winston-Salem State University last month at the age of 43.

Clinton, who compeleted her degree requirements in December, graduated Summa Cum Laude, with a 4.0 GPA.

Clinton said it was her intention to enter college after she graduated from high school in 1987, but her plans were derailed by financial issues. She did earn an associate degree from Forsyth Technical Community College in 1993. By that time, she was a young single mom who was much too focused on taking care of her child to enter a four-year school. She had a successful career at GMAC Insurance.

[pullquote][/pullquote]“In the back of my mind, I kept dreaming about getting a four-year degree, but in addition to my career, being a single mother to an active son, and being involved in the community and church, there was limited time for me to pursue this dream,” Clinton said.

A number of factors motivated Clinton to return to school, including being laid off due to outsourcing and the love and support of her husband, Michael, and other family members. Her son, Jenard Moore, was also a great motivator. He too was in college (N.C. A&T State University), and like his mom, he completed his undergraduate studies in 2012.
As she worked toward her degree, Clinton worked full-time and was an active leader at her church, St. Peter’s World Outreach Center.

“There were times I was sleep deprived, frustrated with so much school work and simply overwhelmed with so much to balance that I began to second-guess the timing of me pursuing this goal,” she said. “(But) in the back of my mind, I would always hear, ‘Don’t quit; you can do this,’ so I kept going.”