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When Halle’ Castille earned her associate degree in 2019, she thought that would be the end of her time in school. 

She was 25, raising her children, and working to support them. 

But life had other plans. Her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic began shortly after. 

“After my mom was diagnosed, she told me she wanted to see me get my bachelor’s. My dad has always been big on education, too,” Castille says. “I was like, ‘OK, I guess I’m going back to school.’” 

“With the pandemic and my mom’s diagnosis and my dad’s encouragement, that was my push. I wanted my mom to be there to say her child had graduated from a university.” 

With experience as a CNA, Castille wanted a program that let her take courses based on her interests and accepted her existing credits. After speaking with an enrollment specialist, she knew the Bachelor of General Studies online program was the choice for her. 

In December 2023, Castille crossed the stage with multiple generations of family in the audience cheering for her.  

A Family Endeavor 

Just as Castille’s parents pushed her to continue her studies, Castille push her children in theirs. And many times, vice versa. 

Her two oldest children, 4 and 7, got off the school bus every afternoon eager to ask her if she had any homework to do. They’d sit around the table, working on their assignments for school together as a family.  

“They were more excited than me to do homework,” Castille says. “That is one thing I did not expect to hear my children say. They were always the ones to be like, ‘Mom, I have homework today! Do you have homework? Let’s go home so we can do our homework together!’” 

And even when her children weren’t occupied with their own homework, they kept Castille company while she did hers. 

“There were some nights I would read my chapters to my kids,” she says. “They’d say, ‘Mama, we want to read a book,’ so I’d read whatever book I was reading for school aloud to them.” 

And, of course, Castille’s children were there at commencement, eager to celebrate her achievement. As she left the stage with her diploma and returned her seat, her children rushed to take a picture and hug her. 

“I was so excited to see their smiling faces!” she says. “It felt like a huge accomplishment for not just myself but for us. WE did it!” 

Finding Community Online 

Support and encouragement from family wasn’t the only thing pushing Castille through her degree program. Within the program, she found peers and an advisor who consistently showed up for her. 

“On day one of classes, you’ll usually get a message from a classmate with a link to a GroupMe,” she says. “When you’re confused on an assignment, chances are, everyone else in the class is confused. In the group chat, somebody will ask the professor, and everybody will get the answer through them. You’re never doing it alone.” 

In Fall 2022, Castille gave birth to her third child. Before the semester began, she decided she was going to sit the semester out. 

“Miss Sharon Williams-Gregory, my advisor, called me and said, ‘Girl, where is your schedule? Where are your classes? You can do this. There’s nothing that can stop you. You just have to say you can,’” she recalls. 

“I am very grateful for her. When I saw her at graduation, I had to stop myself from crying. If it weren’t for her, I probably would have quit.” 

The Next Career Steps 

For the time being, Castille is finished with school. She loves her job and plans to stay in her role on the records team for a local law firm, applying what she learned in her coursework. 

“I took two criminal justice classes, which have helped me a lot,” she says. “We talked about cybercrimes, like cyberbullying and phishing. Being able to identify junk mail and scams is so important because I work with sensitive, private information every day.” 

“I also find being an online student helped me enhance my time management skills. I work on a computer all day in a hybrid role. Without learning to focus and remove distractions to do coursework, I would not have been prepared to succeed at my job.” 

In the meantime, she’s also brainstorming ways she can give back to her community.  

“I would really love to run my own nonprofit ,” she says. “I grew up in church youth groups doing volunteer work, but I don’t really see those groups anymore. Luckily, at my job, we do a lot of different back-to-school drives and food drives and fundraisers. I’m happy I can see some of these organizations and learn from them while I decide where I want my own to go.” 

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