Determined to Succeed

MassReconnect, the free community college program introduced by Governor Maura Healey and enacted in 2023, covers tuition, fees, and books for Massachusetts residents aged 25 and older who do not already have a college degree.  

The state estimates that around three quarters of a million Massachusetts residents over 25 have some college credit but no degree, with nearly 2 million residents eligible for the program overall.  

At BHCC, hundreds of new and continuing students have benefitted from MassReconnect. It has enabled some to pay for basic needs like food, transportation, or childcare, while others have been able to take on more credits and focus more on their academic studies and less on working hourly wage jobs.  

BHCC spoke with three students who benefitted from MassReconnect this year. What follows is an account in their own words of the transformational impact the program has had on their lives and educational journeys.   

Cybersecurity Major, Cambridge, MA 

I came to Bunker Hill two years after high school. I wanted to further my career and earn credits to transfer to a four-year school. 

I was passionate about entrepreneurship and business. When I got into my business classes and then into the real world of work, I saw that there were many more layers and complexity to it. I transitioned into cybersecurity—something more lucrative and where there’s a demand. My plan is to make money in cybersecurity before I go into entrepreneurship. 

I have three businesses: a commercial cleaning service, a family spice business started by my mother, and a real estate marketing company where I also hold a real estate license. My father had three or four businesses when I was younger, and my grandfather had two or three businesses. That’s where the journey first started. From there, I went on to try to start my own business.  

I see myself going to the top with cybersecurity. My family got scammed, stolen Social Security numbers, taking out loans in their name. I was wondering what could be done about it, and they said they had to hire cybersecurity specialists—I said, “What’s that?” That’s how I found out about it. I researched schools with cybersecurity programs because they are fairly new.  

I started my associate degree at Bunker Hill but didn’t finish. I just needed about 16 more credits. Life just came hard. I was trying to focus on school, but bills were much heavier, and I had to help my family. MassReconnect helped me get back into school because bills come first, and you have to pay for food, and inflation has greatly impacted my life. 

Bunker Hill was one of the few schools with a cybersecurity program that also had partnerships with four-year schools for cybersecurity. Those partnerships are what drove me to come to Bunker Hill. I’d like to go somewhere with a cybersecurity program that offers internships and advanced degrees in cybersecurity, such as Northeastern, Boston College, or even MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). A master’s degree from MIT—that would be great.  

Human Services Major,  Boston, MA 

I’ve been sober for a little over five years now. I’ve always wanted to go back to school, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.  

I worked as a recovery coach for Mass General, and my supervisor had a master’s in social work. They made the work interesting, and I wanted to pursue that degree. An associate degree in human services would be the first step. I researched the area and ended up at BHCC.  

As soon as I walked into Student Central, I felt welcomed. I told them I wanted to go to school but didn’t know where to begin. The staff were incredibly helpful. 

I’ve had amazing professors, especially Professor Pamela Schmidt. I can’t think of anyone better to run the Human Services program. What I’ve learned in my classes has allowed me to move on to a counseling position.  

My goal is to earn a master’s degree in public health. I want to work with the homeless population, people living with HIV or AIDS, and people suffering from substance use disorder. 

I work as a counselor at Victory Programs’ Victory House in Boston. We have low-threshold housing, residential rehab programs, and we just opened a facility for people who are immigrants who have just arrived in the country. There is a huge need, and that’s, like, my heart because I’ve dealt with homelessness, I’ve dealt with opioid addiction.  

I have three children and I started at Bunker Hill before the MassReconnect program. I had to rely on student loans and pay out of pocket. With MassReconnect, so far I have not had to pay for school, which I’m so grateful for because being a single parent, and my dad recently passed away. It just makes everything better. I have a good job and make a decent living, but it’s hard to afford daycare, food, and other services. I was really stressed out about being able to go to school, so it is such a relief to know that my education is being taken care of and I’m going to be able to do it.     

 

Psychology Major, Hyde Park, MA 

Once I graduated high school, I enrolled in a four-year university but never felt connected to the school or its students. Even in the classroom, the school was smaller but much bigger than I was used to. I have a disability, and so sometimes I might need accommodations and extra time for things. It was even more difficult to get those accommodations and extra help when your teacher didn’t even remember who you were. 

It was also very expensive. After my first year, I decided, “Okay, this, this is not for me; I will try to figure something else out.” I took a gap year or two. I didn’t know what I wanted to major in. I felt this sense of drifting like, “Okay, I’m here, but I don’t really know why.” College is the thing that I should be doing, but I did not have a real sense of purpose. In the time that I left, I just threw myself into different experiences, volunteering and working a couple of jobs here and there.  

And then I decided I’m ready to head back to school. I have a better sense of who I am as a person. I looked for affordable schools with a decent number of programs. At BHCC, I’ve had the chance to explore different classes, dig deeper into my major, psychology, and build good relationships with my professors who I still keep in touch with. It just allowed me a place to fit in, where I felt like I was a part of the school and the community, and it has also allowed me to gain more experience and broaden my horizons.  

Bunker Hill also provided me with incredible opportunities, like studying abroad in London, that I wouldn’t have had at my other school. Bunker Hill opened the door to many possibilities for me, and I am forever grateful. 

Coming from my first university, I’m still paying back loans from that first year in school. At Bunker Hill, thanks in part to MassReconnect, I haven’t had to take out any loans. I graduated in May with my associate degree. Two years down, and I’m leaving with no debt holding me back. Because it’s more affordable, I had the option to try a couple of different things, versus at an expensive university, you’re pushed to a very focused, very specific lane. Being a part-time student for several years because as an older student, I did need to work. I do have a whole adult life, having that balance was super important.