Amanda Jackson: If we made it through this, we can make it through anything.

For me, coming back to ECC wasn’t just about earning a degree; it was about finishing something I started nearly twenty years ago. I first enrolled at ECC when I was young, full of plans, and certain I knew exactly how life would go. Then life surprised me. I found out I was expecting my first daughter, and school immediately took a back seat. My priorities shifted in an instant. I became a mom, and that became my whole world. 

Fast forward almost two decades, and that baby is now twenty years old and in college herself. My younger daughter is in eighth grade. Somewhere between working full-time, raising two girls, cheering them on at every game or event, and putting my own dreams on pause, I realized something. If I was ever going to finish what I started, it would have to be now. It was truly a “now or never” moment. 

So, I came back to ECC. I was older than most of my classmates, nervous at first, and honestly unsure if I still had it in me, but ECC welcomed me in a way I didn’t expect. The professors, my classmates, the community… all of it reminded me that starting over doesn’t mean starting from scratch. It means returning with more strength, more perspective, and an entirely new reason for doing it. 

Graduation this December will be emotional for me. My grandmother will be there, my dad will be there, and the people who’ve lifted me up and supported me will be in that audience. However, the moment I’m looking forward to the most is seeing my twenty-year-old daughter watching me walk across that stage. She was the reason I paused this journey, and now she gets to watch me finish it. It feels like a full-circle moment. 

I’ll also be thinking about my mom. She was my best friend and losing her unexpectedly three years ago changed my entire world. I know she’ll be with me in her own way when I cross that stage. I know she’ll be proud that I kept going, even when it was hard. 

If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that anyone can do this. Whether you’re starting late, starting over, scared, overwhelmed, or unsure…you can still move forward. Just keep going. Don’t look back. Never give up on yourself, even when life forces you to take a different path. We’ve all pushed through something to get here, and now we’re stepping into our next chapter. If we made it through this, we can make it through anything. 

This December, I’ll walk across that stage and then continue on to Elmhurst University’s School of Education to earn my bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education, with a focus on history. This next chapter feels like the one I was always meant to write, and ECC was the place that finally gave me the courage to start it. 

Amanda Jackson, '25

Pingree Grove, Illinois

Associate in Arts