Wearing Multiple Hats as a Cooke Scholar and a Parent

The path to college does not always follow a straight line from high school graduation directly to university enrollment. In fact, approximately one third of U.S. students enrolled in higher education institutions are over the age of 25. For some Cooke Scholars, the usual challenges of taking college courses need to be balanced with competing priorities of raising a family or working a full-time job. Managing so many time-intensive demands was not easy for Cooke Graduate Scholar Corey Lamb or Cooke Alum Edna (Simbi) Beuchi, but both found that their work and families deeply motivated them to persevere.

“Giving Up is Not an Option.”

Corey Lamb was 36 years old, a recovering addict, and the sole guardian for his 1-year-old daughter when he realized his current way of living – working 60 hours per week and still unable to keep up with the bills for gas, rent, and food – was unsustainable. Corey visited his county’s Department of Social Services to request assistance in completing his G.E.D. so he could get a better paying job. After receiving high scores at a testing center contracted by social services, the center supervisor recommended that Corey apply to college. Once he learned that financial aid would be available, suddenly higher education was within his reach. A year later, while attending Fullerton Community College in California, Corey saw a Cooke Foundation flyer for the transfer scholarship program and decided to apply. After receiving the scholarship, he transferred to Stanford University in 2019.

Corey says he realized early on that he was miserable at Stanford and “that I needed to recreate whatever I had at community college that had made me happy there.” Looking for a sense of community, he decided to start attending addiction recovery meetings on campus. That led to volunteer work for the recovery group and eventually he secured a full-time position as the Collegiate Recovery Program Coordinator at Stanford. He finds that working with students in addiction recovery is so rewarding that he has decided to pursue a graduate degree in Behavioral Health and Education from the University of Michigan.

Edna (Simbi) Beuchi always knew she wanted a PhD, but the opportunities to pursue higher education did not exist for her where she grew up in a Kenyan village. She decided at a young age that she wanted to work for the United Nations because she saw their representatives helping people in her village, especially on issues related to gender equality. By the time she moved to America, she was 28 years old and had a daughter. After living and working in California for one year, she was able to claim residency and register for community college. The transfer center director at her college told her about the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship, so she applied and was awarded the funding to attend Columbia University in New York City. Columbia made sense to her because she wanted to work for the U.N., which was also in New York City.

Moving to New York meant leaving her two children, ages 2 and 13 years old, behind in Sacramento, California with her husband while she pursued her educational goals. Edna would get on the phone every afternoon to talk with her family and help her children with their homework, but her five years living apart from them was extremely difficult. On top of the emotional challenges of being away from her children, Edna was working towards both a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a master’s degree in International Affairs while also working for both the United Nations and Goldman Sachs, where she was on a fast track to promotion. Not surprisingly, she told us, “I never slept while I was in New York!”

“We struggle so that our children don’t have to struggle.”

Current Cooke Grad Scholar Corey Lamb and his daughter

Corey shares that the whole time he was working towards his degree at Stanford, he was wondering if it was going to work out. But, he says, “You are more intentional about your education when you are a returning student; you have more motivation, and you know what parts of life you don’t want to repeat.” Corey also knew his daughter was watching him and says that she has been a part of his educational journey every step of the way. After seeing her father overcome challenges and receive awards, Corey recalls his daughter telling him, “I’m going to get lots of awards when I’m in school too, dad.”

Motivated by his family and his passion for his work, Corey is now enrolled in a graduate program designed for working professionals at the University of Michigan. As a single parent with a full-time job, he says being in a program that is understanding of working professionals is key for him, as is flexibility at his workplace. He says it is important to talk to professors and managers and tell them, “I am not standard, I am a round peg and I cannot fit into the square hole.” By humanizing himself and sharing his situation, Corey has been able to work around potential scheduling conflicts between work, school, and childcare.

For Edna, simultaneously working two jobs and pursuing two degrees in New York City came naturally as she says that multitasking is her strength and she was born with a resilient spirit. But during that challenging and busy time, she did cry many times. She leaned on her mother and her husband for long-distance support and says they were very encouraging and would pray with her. Edna says, though, that it was worth it, and that “I am great believer that nothing comes easy in life, and you have to work for what you want.”

After completing her degrees at Columbia, it was time for Edna to head home to Sacramento. Despite the lucrative job opportunities she had in New York, Edna needed to be with her kids. She knew that a stressful job like the one she had on Wall Street was not compatible with the way she wanted to raise her children, so she applied for a job with the California state government. After multiple promotions over the past several years, she is now the IT Bureau Chief for the California Department of Social Services. She has not given up on her passion for gender equality, though; she has joined the board of a nonprofit organization that helps sex-trafficked girls in Africa and says that someday, she may return to the U.N. to work on initiatives that empower women.

“It takes a village.”

Edna, Corey, and so many others who share the roles of Parent/Employee/Student cannot do it all, all the time. With motivation, perseverance, and supports in place, however, Edna and Corey have been able to achieve their educational goals without letting their other responsibilities overly impede them. Working hard to get their degrees, they have changed not only their own lives, but the lives of their children as well.

Think big, no matter what stage of life you are in!

Thank you to Corey Lamb and Edna Beuchi for sharing your inspiring stories with us!