How flexibility and support helped adult learners finish strong
Students at University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) often face personal obstacles—work responsibilities, military deployment, family demands, or health challenges—that require perseverance to reach graduation.
For many, finishing a degree is less about a straight academic path than about navigating life as it unfolds. Many say what makes the difference is a university willing to work alongside them, offering flexibility, understanding faculty, and success coaches focused on helping students finish what they started.
Sometimes, that support comes at life’s most intense moments.
Support that makes a difference
Kathleen Benson’s journey to graduation spans decades and continents. She planned to attend college right out of high school, but her father became chronically ill. College had to wait as she worked three jobs to support her family. After her father died, Benson enrolled at Montgomery College in Maryland, where she met her husband, who was originally from Ireland.
When the couple decided to start a family, they wanted to move there, eventually settling near Limerick.
Once again, life intervened. Benson’s first two children experienced serious medical challenges early in life, and while her son has since recovered, her daughter requires significant care and support.
“Una couldn’t sit up and couldn’t walk for the longest time or even chew properly,” said Benson. “All of my time went into just caring for everybody.”
Pregnant with her third child, the family returned to Maryland, and through sheer determination, Benson managed to continue her studies, graduating with an associate degree from Montgomery College in late 2022.
A web search led Benson to UMGC’s Bachelor of Science in Health Services Management, a program that aligned with her desire to help others and with her life experience, which included finding specialists and support networks to provide her daughter with the care she needed. By fall 2023, she had secured the funding—including grants and scholarships—to enroll in the program.
“Lots of my time was spent making sure I’d get everybody what they need during the day, and getting everyone to sleep,” she said. “And then I'd stay up and do my schooling at night and just do the best I could.”
While completing her coursework, Benson had two more children, the last one born as she was completing her final class.
That’s when Benson’s success coach, Melodie Alajandro, stepped into a more active role. Alajandro helped Benson manage coursework, communicate with professors, and navigate the two pregnancies while maintaining her academic momentum.
“It makes a difference when you find someone that you really click with and you understand each other,” Benson said. “She was just so in my corner straight away, getting a hold of this professor, that professor, doing whatever we needed.”
Benson’s youngest child was due on April 5, after she had planned to submit her final paper. But the baby had other ideas. On March 18, when it became clear the baby would arrive early, Benson called Alajandro, who made sure everything was in place as Benson completed her coursework before heading to the hospital.
“I really don't know what I would have done without her,” Benson said. “She has been in my corner. She has been my constant.”
Balancing life and learning
As a mother, wife, and full-time professional, Kendra Alston ’26 said pursuing her MBA required discipline, sacrifice, strong time management, and financial commitment.
“Completing this journey showed me that setbacks do not define us; perseverance does,” she said. “Earning my MBA represents more than an academic achievement. It represents strength, healing, and determination. It’s a milestone that honors not only my hard work, but also the example I want to set for my children.”
Kenia Alvarado ’26, who is graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Social Science, said “UMGC meets you where you are in life; they work with you.”
After earning two associate degrees, she took 10 years off from school as she built a career working with law firms. While she loved the work, she hit barrier after barrier to advancement because she did not have a bachelor’s degree.
“I essentially fit [in] a full-time school schedule as a part-time student working full-time,” she said. “Thanks to UMGC’s flexible options and partnerships, I was able to graduate before my official projected time.”
Meeting students where they are
Helping her along the way was her success coach, Alexander "Xander" Davidson.
“It was almost like he was God-sent,” she said.
While she had gotten all As in prior classes, Alvarado was struggling with a course in technical writing. Davidson looked at her transcript and showed her how she could rearrange courses to ease her workload.
“He offered a Plan B,” she said. “I liked getting the perspective from somebody else. He was a great sounding board. He's just been a constant presence in my journey with UMGC. He’s a big part of why it's gone as smoothly as it has.”
Now Alvarado is looking to go to law school. Her view: Why work for lawyers when you can be one?
Miranda Luisiana Garcia Torres ’26 thought she would never be able to afford a degree. But she worked with UMGC to get a Completion Scholarship and federal Pell Grants to pay her tuition expenses, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies this spring.
The Completion Scholarship offers eligible Maryland community college graduates the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree for $12,000 or less—well below the typical cost for in-state students.
“Applying for graduation brought tears to my eyes,” she said. “Do it. Take the risk. Let yourself be challenged.”
Kendra Alston '26 Master of Business Administration