Easy Transferring will Make Bachelor’s Degree Possible
Crisleidy Paula, Liberal Arts: Psychology
Crisleidy Paula of Lawrence attributes the direction of her education, as well as her life, to the time she spent being bounced from place to place from a very young age, including her move to this country from the Dominican Republic in 2014 when she was 16 years old.
“Since I was a little kid, I have moved three or four times from school to school,” she says. “And I would have never made it without help from school counselors, who were really supportive and encouraged me to keep going.”
A 2015 graduate of Lawrence High School, Crisleidy now wants to offer similar inspiration to other students like her: specifically, those that have many challenges on top of classroom time and homework. She wants to become a school counselor, and the first step in her journey was the Associate Degree in Liberal Arts: Psychology which she received from Northern Essex with high honors in May.
Crisleidy’s associate degree transferred easily to UMass Lowell, where she will attend in the fall, and, as a community college transfer student, she received a significant discount in her tuition. Her goal is a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and eventually she wants to continue for a master’s in counseling.
The PACE Program (Pathways to Academic & Career Excellence), a federally-funded student support program, provided Crisleidy with plenty of transfer help.
“Growing up in the Dominican Republic, there weren’t as many transfer options,” she says. “I wasn’t sure how to get started, and it would not have been possible without the help of all the supportive and caring people who work at the college.”
When she becomes a school counselor, Crisleidy will be a role model for her future students, showing them what they, too, can accomplish.
“I wasn’t sure how to get started, and it would not have been possible without the help of all the supportive and caring people who work at the college.”
For more information on the Liberal Arts: Psychology Program at Northern Essex, contact Enrollment Services, admissions@necc.mass.edu or 978-556-3700.
