She’s a teacher and a single mom, but “It’s never too late to learn”
She’s a teacher and a single mom, but “It’s never too late to learn”
Sheritta Stokes has overcome a lot to return to UNI. “I beat all the stereotypes of being a single mom,” she said. “I beat all the stereotypes of being a pregnant teen. I'm here right now to show it's never too late to learn. It's never too late to accomplish any of your goals. Just do it.”
It’s been nearly three decades since she first got her undergraduate degree and started teaching, but she finally earned her Master of Arts in Elementary Education this May.
Stokes first began thinking of continuing her education five or six years into her career as an elementary school teacher.
“I wanted to learn more about being a teacher,” she explained. “I wanted to be a better teacher, and I eventually wanted to be a learning coach or a coach within a district.”
Stokes began her master’s studies when her two oldest children were getting ready to graduate high school. But she stopped soon after to take a second job to support her children in college.
I beat all the stereotypes of being a pregnant teen. I'm here right now to show it's never too late to learn. It's never too late to accomplish any of your goals. Just do it.
As the years passed, Stokes took a class or two most summers to continue slowly working toward her degree. Then a few years ago, she started an after-school literacy program furthering her desire to advance her education.
“In my head, if I'm the director, I probably should have a master's,” she said. “It’s not that I couldn’t do my job without it. But sometimes you need to have that extra knowledge so you can pursue things even further.”
Finally, Stokes knew the time was right for her to return to UNI when her youngest child was getting ready to graduate high school.
“It's something I've always wanted,” she said. “I've started, then I’ve stopped, and when this opportunity presented itself, I knew it was my sign.”
Stokes found her program, which is completely online, to be surprisingly flexible. She finished school work in the morning before school or at night after coming home. She still allowed herself one day every week as a break from both work and school.
Everyone she has met at UNI has been supportive of her journey.
“There is a mutual understanding between me and my professors,” Stokes said. “I’m able to express myself, ask questions, get answers, get tips, get help, get resources. I couldn't have picked a better time to come back.”
As for her fifth-grade students in Waterloo, Stokes says they are in awe that like them, their teacher has to read textbooks and do homework. Stokes believes the knowledge she is gaining from her studies is benefiting her students, as well as her fellow educators at school.
“Kids when I first started teaching 27 years ago are totally different from the kids now,” she said. “So being able to go back to school and learn those updated procedures and getting a little bit more knowledge under my belt and being the lifelong learner I decided to be when I became a teacher is huge. I do feel like when I attend a class, or read a new article, it's all giving me new, great information I can also use and share.”
All her hard work of balancing family and work commitments alongside school work have finally paid off — and she may not be done with advancing her education just yet.
“I don't know if I’m ready to start my PhD, but it's in the back of my mind.”
