Marilyn Glazer, Director World Language Institute
Neither one of my parents had the opportunity to 
experience college. When they were young, all you needed to become employed was a
high school diploma. Life began to change dramatically when I was younger and had
graduated from high school. When I graduated from high school the vast majority of
my classmates went into the workforce, especially if you were a woman. The only women
who went on to pursue higher education were those who wanted to become nurses or teachers.
Since there was no money for me to pursue a college degree at age 18, I entered the
workforce.
After a few years of experiencing a successful career in the corporate world, I got married and became a full-time stay-at-home mom. I loved this phase of my life and I stayed busy managing family, home, and performing community service. No one in the community asked me if I had attended college. They just assumed I had because I could speak. I served on every board of directors for every organization in my community from my children’s school, to the community center, to our house of worship. Sometimes out of challenge comes an opportunity.
When my oldest son was ready to apply to colleges, I suddenly became single head of household. I became invisible in my community and I had to quickly find a way to support myself and three adolescent children. I began my college education in my 40’s at North Shore Community College. During my first semester at NSCC I began my career in higher education as a peer tutor. Balancing academic challenges with work and the responsibilities of parenting three adolescents was far from easy. Despite, I persevered, graduated from NSCC with honors and continued on to earn my bachelor’s degree at Tufts University. For each step of the process I overcame more fears and realized that I could do the work that was required to earn a college degree.
In a period of six years I earned three college degrees, Associate, Bachelor, and Master, watched my children to out into the world and find their own paths via higher education and career development, and established a satisfying and rewarding career thanks to the start I received at a community college. This is why I choose to work at MCC. Community colleges are a place where individuals can and do change their lives. I am grateful to be able to work in an environment like ours at MCC and I hope to contribute to positively changing the lives and learning of our students.