Taunton Student Success - Melissa Baker

The moment Melissa Baker was accepted to the Bay State College Medical Assisting program, she knew she had a call she wanted to make.

“Guess what!?” she said to her parents. “You finally have a daughter in college!”

And as important as that phone call was to her, the most important thing to Melissa was to prove to herself that she could accomplish her goals. 

Because she had her daughter at a young age, Melissa set aside her ambitions to go to college for a job she loved; being a stay at home mom.  As her daughter grew up, she took on other jobs that seemed to lead to dead ends, with no room for growth or promotion.  Then, her daughter entered Middleboro High School and Melissa learned of Bay State College for the first time.

When she started the application process, Bay State College was at its old location; operating out of the local high school (new, modern campus now located in Taunton, MA).  Melissa decided to reach out to Renae, the Associate Director of Admissions to find out more information.

“From all of the talk I heard about applying to colleges, I thought the process would be painful and too much for me to handle,” says Melissa.  “But Renae walked me through it all.  She assured me that I would be in class with other people who, like me, were returning to school after many years. She talked to me about financial aid, scheduling, and before I knew it, I was enrolled in my first semester of classes.”

As the semester began, Melissa’s “inner geek” came out as she discovered how much she loves being in class and (gasp!) doing homework. The wide range of ages and experience in the classroom is actually helpful, and allows her to get different perspectives on the subjects being taught. 

“If I have any advice to give to prospective students, it would be not to doubt yourself,” Melissa says. “No matter how long it’s been, if earning a degree is something you want to do for yourself, than do it. You’ll realize, especially here, that you’re not alone.”

Melissa continues to succeed at Bay State and recently received an honors award for the Fall 2013 Semester.