Northern Essex Community College psychology student Melissa Horne is used to giving advice. As a Haverhill business owner, mother of six, and Instagram influencer, she thrives on helping others succeed. Yet, despite her own success, she always felt something was missing.

“I love my business, love being creative, love being a mom, but I always had this thing that I wasn’t where I was meant to be. I knew I could do more, that I was meant for more.”

Melissa Horne of Haverhill is studying Psychology

Horne graduated from Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School in 1997 with a concentration in marketing. She had every intention of attending college, when her grandmother, the family matriarch, became ill. Horne assumed the caretaker role for her beloved grandmother, and attempted to take classes at NECC, but ultimately had to drop out.

“I had to work; I just couldn’t juggle it all. I had to let those college aspirations go.”

Life would go on to become even busier for Horne. At 25, she and her husband welcomed twins, a boy and a girl, and then four more children over the next ten years. When the youngest was just eight months old, in 2014, they opened their shop 8 by Design in downtown Haverhill. They specialize in painting and restoring vintage furniture and décor. Thanks in large part to her efforts to market the business on social media, she sold all her inventory in just one day. An Instagram post about that experience went viral, garnering four million views.

People flocked to her Instagram page to find out how they could emulate her success. They were also drawn in by her warm and honest takes on motherhood, female empowerment, and mental health awareness. Her account has now grown to nearly 50,000 followers. Horne closed the brick-and-mortar business in 2018 and now operates entirely online.

“After I closed the shop, I immersed myself in my children again. And then when my two oldest were about to graduate high school, I started to think about what happens next.”

Horne says a traumatic experience in her family made her want to use her voice to advocate for more awareness around mental health issues. And, in communicating with some of her social media followers, she realized that going back to college could help her reach that goal.

“I always heard from women who wished they could go after their dreams. And it got me thinking, ‘Maybe I should go to college- is this what I should do?’ This summer, I experienced something profound that made me realize I needed to make a choice. So, I got up one night and applied.”

Once she made up her mind, Horne was all in. She enrolled in five classes at NECC for the fall ’24 semester.

“I took it as seriously as my child going to school. I loved it! The first thing I learned about was the growth mindset vs the fixed mindset,” she recalls of her first week of classes.  “This ability to have access to beauty and learning, as a 45-year-old woman, it has been profound, life-altering.”

Horne says her experience has altered her children’s outlooks on higher education as well. Her 20-year-old daughter is also a student at NECC, and her 20-year-old son is planning to enroll for the spring semester. Horne’s 17-year-old, who is a student at Whittier Tech, is taking classes at NECC through the Early College program. The icing on the cake is that they are all attending NECC for free: Horne through MassReconnect, her oldest children through MassEducate, and her teen through the Massachusetts Early College Initiative.

Now, Horne’s Instagram feed includes posts about her experiences as a college student. Her advice to followers is the same advice she gives to her children and classmates: it’s never too late to invest in yourself.

“I was always embarrassed about not going to college, I felt like I wasn’t living up to my potential. But as another woman said to me- don’t feel sad you didn’t do it; this is your time now to do it. I’m super grateful for the opportunity. This experience has enhanced every facet of my life. If I hadn’t been a mom, it wouldn’t have the same value, it happened when it was supposed to happen for me.”