While many high school graduates choose to go to college right away, Latisha (Tish) Adams planned for a life of public service.
After graduating from high school in 2008, Adams joined the Baltimore City Police Department as a police cadet. Since completing the Police Academy in 2010, she has served as a police officer in Baltimore.
More than seven years ago, Adams’ life changed forever when she became a mother for the first time. At just eight months old, her son was diagnosed with Hepatoblastoma, a rare form of liver cancer. Then, as a 1-year-old, Adams’ son suffered a brain injury.
“I think that a lot of times we don't talk about trauma, and okay it happened, but now I have to keep going,” Adams explained. “I suffered with PTSD when it came to my son. The doctors did not think my son would survive but he did. He is fully disabled and depends on me to take care of him.”
Using her son and two daughters as her inspiration, Adams decided to finish her college degree in 2023. This month, Adams will graduate with her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC). She received an online associate degree from Eastern Gateway Community College.
“I thank God for my kids, because they kept me grounded, and without them I would have given up and never gone to college,” Adams explained.
Adams said she chose UMGC because she could study online and it had everything she needed, including online resources and learning materials.
“I didn't have to go to a campus or get tutoring because the way that they ordered everything, I could understand it,” she said.
UMGC’s flexible schedule allowed Adams to juggle her full-time job and take care of her three children, now 7, 4 and 2, with family support and her au pair. Every semester, she created a plan and mapped it out on her calendar.
“Every semester, I stuck to a new plan. UMGC helped me create structure with my assignments,” Adams adds. “Everything had to go on a calendar, and I used a timer on my phone. I would read assignments in 30-minute increments and then write. It was hard for me because I wasn’t a big writer in school.”
Adams said the most challenging aspect of attending UMGC as a working adult and parent was when her son got sick.
“When my son was in the hospital, I had to reach out to a professor since I was late to submit an assignment,” Adams added. “My professor was very helpful and did not make me feel bad.”
On May 16, Adams will attend UMGC’s Grad Walk and walk across the stage to receive her diploma with her extended family and her son by her side.
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