A 25-year career in advertising and communications, a published book, a loving husband, and two incredible children – what could possibly be missing? For Emily Haines Lloyd, Class of 2022, it was her college degree.

“While I’m lucky to have a job I love, I have always wanted to finish my degree,” said Emily.

Emily’s husband works at Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC), and when she learned she could take classes there for free, she decided to finish her associate’s degree. However, Emily didn’t consider how much she would love taking courses and learning. She soon started looking to transfer into a four-year program.

“It was my academic advisor at GRCC who first mentioned the LEADS program at Grand Valley,” said Emily. “The shorter courses with an accelerated timeline were really appealing to me. Then when I connected with my academic advisor at GVSU, Kate VanDerKolk, I got a sense of the GVSU community and was just blown away at how helpful and invested everyone was.”

When it came to transferring to Grand Valley, Emily and her husband knew they needed to minimize the financial impact of continuing her education. In two years, their family’s oldest child would also be in college. Applying for scholarships was mandatory.

“I was often faced with an internal question of - why spend the time and money on an education for me?” said Emily. “However, it is part of the story I want to model for our kids – to not give up on your dream, to seek and take every opportunity afforded to you, and to not be afraid to ask for help when you need it.”

The scholarships Emily has received are helping to send this message to her children and to anyone who doubts themselves and is afraid to take a chance. She shared how grateful she is for the donors who are making this possible.

“There is this sense of pride and gratitude at the same time. I keep imagining that this is money going back into our children’s college funds. It is also this affirmation that I am worth believing in. It feels like someone is cheering me on,” she said.

What started out as a bucket-list item of completing a degree has turned into so much more. In less than a year, Emily will walk across the commencement stage with a diploma in her hand and the confidence to tackle whatever comes next.

“To say that going back to school in your 40s is a life-changing experience is an understatement. There were dozens of reasons not to,” she said. “However, I knew I wanted to take this journey not only for myself and the new career path I hope to take, but to show our children that it is never too late to live your dreams and to believe in yourself.”

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