Mustering up a second wind to take college classes at night after a full day of work can get exhausting.
“Trying to grab a bite to eat so you can go to class,” described Anthony Taylor, an MBA student at University of Houston-Downtown. “Sometimes it can be a little trying.”
Taylor, 24, currently works a full-time job in human resources for a manufacturing group, and has been studying for his master’s in business administration with a concentration in finance at night.
“I see myself going to higher heights in my field,” said Taylor. “Honestly, the sky’s the limit.”
At his family’s Thanksgiving, Taylor passed out invitations to his virtual graduation ceremony, set for 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 19.
When he was done, his mother, Renita Gray-Taylor, started passing out a second set of envelopes.
“I thought maybe it was a few more pictures for me that she got done,” said Taylor.
When they opened them, there was Renita, in her cap and gown, announcing that she was graduating on the same day, from the same school.
“I didn’t want anyone to know,” said Gray-Taylor.
Anthony said he started crying.
“I was just excited. I was happy. I was proud of my mom that she finished. She started school, then she finished school and fulfilled her dream,” he said.
Renita put her dream of a college education on hold when she had a family and started working full-time.
She said she was sitting in church when her pastor spoke to the congregation and inspired her.
“’It’s never too late if you’re still breathing,’” said Gray-Taylor, remembering the sermon. “When he said that, it went off like a lightbulb. It pierced me. I said to myself, ‘I have to complete it. He’s talking to me.’ It registered directly with me.”
Almost three years of night classes later, Renita will graduate with a degree in corporate communications.
“I don’t even know if I’ll sleep tonight,” she said. “I feel almost like the journey has been not only rewarding but completed because I have him by my side.”
“It makes me more proud of her than I am now,” said Anthony.
He said he is proud of her sacrifice: an inner strength that Renita said everyone can tap into.
“Whenever you have something that you’re working towards, you’ll find the strength you feel that you don’t have,” said Gray-Taylor. “It’s not easy but it can be done.”
And the rewards can last a lifetime.