As a teen growing up in Slidell, Louisiana, Sophia Jenkins knew she wanted to earn her bachelor’s degree.
But she didn’t know the breadth of challenges she would face in the two decades it took her to get there, from the unknowns of being a first-generation college student to moves across the country and around the world.
“This has been a long journey,” she says.
A journey that culminated in 2022 when Jenkins crossed the commencement stage and earned her bachelor’s in Health Promotion & Wellness from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Through the Health Promotion and Wellness program, Jenkins found a level of academic support and connection she had never had before.
First Generation or Bust
Growing up, no one in Jenkins' immediate family had completed a bachelor's degree. She decided that she would be the first no matter what it took.
Adults in her life urged her to reconsider, to try a vocational school, or enlist in the military first, but Jenkins would not be swayed.
“I always said, ‘No, I want to go to a four-year college’,” she says.
With help from her high school guidance counselor, she completed her applications and, in Fall 1998, enrolled at a university not far from home to become a nurse.
Then the hurdles of being a trailblazing first-generation college student began to take shape.
“It was very rough,” says Jenkins. “I found out that my high school didn’t prepare me well. So, I had to take all the remedial courses.”
When she tried to communicate with her instructors, she got little help or actionable guidance.
“I would reach out for help, but … I didn’t feel like I was safe to ask questions or like I was really being helped with anything there,” she says.
Her family — especially her great-grandmother — wanted to be supportive but lacked the context to offer advice.
“I had no one letting me know ‘It’s OK. You’re just having a bad semester. It’s not the end of the world’,” she says. “I was still determined to stay in school, but I was discouraged and confused.”
After a couple cycles of stops and starts, Jenkins decided to try a new approach and rebuild her GPA, so she transferred to a community college where she earned an associate degree in liberal arts.
Completing her associate program fortified Jenkins’ confidence and reaffirmed she could succeed in higher education.
Reaffirmed, Reinvigorated, Still Trying
Jenkins still had her eyes set on obtaining a bachelor’s degree, preferably one that could lead to a career in health.
“I was very determined. It was something I wanted to do,” she says. “I also felt like I owed it to my great-grandma to finish my degree because she had helped me so much financially and being motivational and supportive.”
In 2016, Jenkins and her husband, John Tobias, were married. As an active member of the U.S. Army, Tobias could be stationed — or re-stationed — anywhere in the world.
Jenkins realized she would need to find an online degree program and commit to making it work.
“I was nervous that it would be just me teaching myself. And nervous that, you know, you’re taking courses, but can you remember anything from the lessons?” says Jenkins. “And I didn’t want it to be like I was doing something and getting credits, but not actually learning.”
She found the online Health Promotion & Wellness program while researching programs offered by Louisiana schools and applied, enrolling in 2017. Her concerns about online learning were soon eased.
When Jenkins had a question or felt unsure of how she approached an assignment, her instructors met her drive in-kind.
"I felt like more than a student. I felt like each professor I had cared," she says.
"Having Lisa LeBlanc as my advisor, I've told her at every step of the way 'I'm so grateful for you,' and 'I've just had such a great experience with the school and online learning.’"
Gaining new skills
Jenkins had finally found a program that ignited her curiosity. To succeed, she had to take responsibility for her study methods and habits.
"I've had to be absolutely organized. I made spreadsheets during the semester," she says, for assignments, deadlines, and volunteer hours logged with the American Red Cross near their current base in Germany.
She realized she's hands-on with her studies, so she would print out class materials to give herself physical tools.
"As I would go along, I could cross out on the calendar 'This assignment is done,’" and then I would eliminate the hardcopy that was a reminder and that let me see, 'OK, I did this,' and I could feel a little less stressed,’" she says.
One last hurdle
Jenkins and her husband were posted in Hawaii when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Along with the stress everyone was feeling, Jenkins' grandmother back in Slidell had fallen ill, so she went home to help out for a couple of months.
"I reached out then to Lisa LeBlanc and she understood the situation, but at that point I was also thinking 'I need to sit out and get my head together'," says Jenkins. "I felt like maybe I just have to be OK with not being a college graduate."
Before despair could get a stronger foothold, her husband stepped in.
"He said 'Look at ALL you've been through and that you've battled against, your determination, and now you're just done?'" says Jenkins. "I tried to say, 'Yeah, well, I'm just tired,' or when I'd complain about paying for school, he would say 'Look, we just need to get you across the finish line.'"
And they did.
Jenkins was able to travel to the University from their home in Wiesbaden, Germany, to attend Fall 2022 Commencement.
Jenkins will continue working with the Red Cross while watching for career opportunities that will allow her to use her skills in community health education in social service settings.