For many students, college represents a pathway to professional opportunity. For others, it becomes something deeper: a space for self-exploration, personal discovery, and reclaiming one’s voice.
For Shatoya Simmons — a first-generation college student, mother, writer, and advocate — higher education offered all of that and more. “I entered college seeking understanding,” she shared. “Understanding of systems, of purpose, and ultimately of myself.”
What she did not expect was how profoundly healing the experience would be.
A fire that never faded
Born in Hartford and raised in Manchester, Shatoya always loved education. Reading and writing came naturally to her, fueled by a deep curiosity about people and the world around her. Yet for years, she didn’t believe college was a possibility.
Life intervened early. She became a mother at 18, dropped out of school, and faced mounting obstacles — including childcare responsibilities, financial hardship, and food and housing insecurity.
“I always wanted to go back, but circumstances kept me from pursuing my diploma to a point where I thought, ‘Okay — this is just my life.’ When your basic needs aren’t being met the way they’re supposed to be,” Shatoya explained, “it’s hard to focus on the things that will grow you.”
Beyond these external barriers, she also struggled internally. She devoted herself to helping others but still needed to harness the self-love to invest in her own future. “I always wanted to help other people, but I didn’t feel good enough to pour into myself,” she reflected. “I would just encourage and pour into other people because I saw them as more worthy than myself.”
Still, the fire within her never went out. Over time, exhaustion gave way to resolve.
“There comes a time when you just get tired of the same old things — of always doing for other people and it not being reciprocated,” she said. “Then you just get this inkling: you want to do that for yourself.”
Opening the door to higher education
In 2022, Shatoya completed her high school diploma with her eyes firmly set on the future. At the same time, she was training to become an addiction and abuse recovery coach — drawing from her own lived experience while embarking on a career path in-home patient care.
That work became a stepping stone.
After completing her diploma, she remembers sitting alone in her car, praying. “I wished a door would open for me to go to college,” she said. “I didn’t have a lot of money, but I love to learn.”
Not long after, an unexpected opportunity arrived when a flyer outlining the SNAP educational benefits available to recipients arrived in the mail. When she saw Goodwin’s Human Services program, she felt an immediate calling.
“It just came naturally,” she said. “I feel like life is human services. I felt like I’d been exposed to many different parts of human services before I began the associate degree program.”
The program aligned seamlessly with her background in recovery coaching and patient care — connecting her passion for helping others with a clear academic path.
Finding beauty through adversity
As Shatoya adjusted to college life, she quickly realized that education at Goodwin was about more than earning a degree — it was about self-discovery.
One pivotal moment came during the summer 2025 semester, when she found herself struggling in ways she couldn’t explain. “I thought I was developing dementia,” she said. “But come to find out, I have ADHD.”
The diagnosis brought clarity — and eventually, empowerment. Around that time, Assistant Professor of English Rafael Osés became a key figure in her academic journey. Despite her love for the subject, she was struggling to keep up in his class. Rather than lowering expectations, he held her to high standards while offering unwavering support.
Osés believed in her capacity — guiding her through the final grading window and even providing late-night assistance as deadlines approached. Just as importantly, the experience taught Shatoya the power of self-advocacy.
“I didn’t want to say, ‘I’m struggling with ADHD,’” she admitted. “I didn’t want to sound like I was making excuses. But pride was the enemy.”
Through that process, she reframed ADHD not as a limitation, but as a strength — one that explained traits others had once used to discount her.
“It is so validating in a way that you don’t even expect,” she said. “I was happy, but I was sad for the little version of me that struggled and didn’t understand why. Knowing things about yourself makes a difference. ADHD is beautiful. People with ADHD can tap into things other people can’t. The world needs us.”
Igniting her inner spark
Other faculty members also shaped Shatoya’s journey, including Moriah Gadomski, assistant professor of English. While Shatoya had always dreamed of bringing her voice to the page, mental health challenges had made it difficult to complete creative work.
“I wanted that spark back,” she reflected.
After having her as a student, Gadomski remembered a piece Shatoya had written and, without prompting, nominated it for an award. “She messaged me out of the blue,” Shatoya recalled, “to let me know she had submitted a piece I wrote about my son because it stuck with her.”
The piece received the award, allowing Shatoya to present at the 2026 Humanities Festival. She continued working closely with the English department, serving on the editorial team for Beacons magazine. Her nonfiction piece, “A Part of Me Had to Die So I Could Live,” was published in Beacons‘ first edition, and she later performed a live reading at Hoffman Family Library for the magazine’s launch party.
Non-traditional — not delayed
On Thursday, June 4, 2026, Shatoya stepped onto the Commencement stage as the student speaker, sharing her journey with the graduating class.
Her message focused on tuning out external noise — comparison, doubt, and pressure — in favor of authenticity and self-trust.
“Healing came before confidence, and survival came before clarity,” she shared. “But non-traditional does not mean delayed. I wasn’t behind — I was right on time for the life I was meant to live.”
Now pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Human Services, Shatoya is working toward launching a mobile ministry focused on adolescent mental health.
“Younger people struggle with a lot more than we even do at times,” she said. “I think we have an obligation to push them in the right direction.”
As she continues to grow, learn, read, and write, Shatoya reflects on what she ultimately gained while studying at Goodwin. “I wanted to understand myself more,” she said. “I wanted to understand humans, why things happen the way they do, and make my life make more sense. That was why I chose to pursue my degree.”
Shatoya’s story is a powerful reminder that growth doesn’t follow a single timeline — and that it’s never too late to choose yourself.
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Bri Gagné is a content developer at Goodwin University, bringing backgrounds in literary studies, creative storytelling, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and social justice. They earned their bachelor’s degree in English Literature, Film Studies, and Gender Studies from University of Connecticut and a master’s in Elementary Education from Eastern Connecticut State University.
After teaching English abroad and locally, Bri transitioned to a full-time writing career, contributing to the University’s educational narratives and brand-building efforts. They are currently earning their Master of Fine Arts in Popular Fiction Writing and Publishing at Emerson College.