Charlene Maycott, Liberal Studies

It was her mother’s voice in her head saying, “You’re gonna graduate,” that carried Charlene Maycott to the finish line.

There were many moments the 61-year-old grandmother from Mullica considered giving up. But each time, that voice kept her moving forward.

“I feel like it took a lifetime, but I’m glad that I did,” said Maycott, who is graduating in May with a 4.0 GPA. “I know if I had gone to college at 18, I would not have the grades I did now.”

She is among the growing number of students to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies through a 3+1 agreement with Atlantic Cape Community College that allowed her to transfer 90 credits to Stockton, saving time and money.

Still, the path wasn’t easy. To complete her bachelor’s degree within the program’s one-year timeframe at Stockton, she took 20 credits a semester. Balancing that workload required careful time management as she juggled coursework, a part-time job at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, and helping care for some of her seven grandchildren.

For Maycott, the goal of earning a college degree had been lifelong. Growing up in Arizona, she had planned to follow a traditional path. But life took unexpected turns, leading her to New Jersey, where she lived in a multigenerational household with her mother and grandmother before she had the chance to pursue higher education.

Marriage and four children followed, and Maycott continued to put off her own school until “someday.”

That dream stayed with her. She remembers walking around Stockton’s campus with her oldest daughter, Jessica, when she was about 10 years old.

“Jessica decided this was where she was going to go to school. She did come for one year, but she has epilepsy and could not stay by herself. I am graduating for both of us.”

Years later, Maycott took her first step back toward that dream, enrolling at Atlantic Cape in 2019. She earned an associate degree in Communication, then a second in Psychology because she loved the experience so much, all while caring for her mother with Alzheimer’s.

When the 3+1 agreement was introduced in 2023, advisors told her she was an ideal candidate. Even so, Maycott had her doubts, particularly about moving from a part-time to full-time schedule while grieving the death of her mother. She also worried the age discrepancy between herself and the traditional students might be more apparent at Stockton.

But those doubts quickly faded.

“I’m so grateful I didn’t let that fear stop me. There is a closeness even though we are so far apart age wise,” she said. “And I have something to offer them, and they teach me things.”

At Stockton, she found both connection and inspiration. Some of her favorite classes were Perspectives on Caregiving, Scientific Inquiry (which she used the lessons from to teach and bond with her grandchildren), and The Leadership Challenge, co-taught by President Joe.

“That was amazing. I wish everyone had to take that,” she said. “It does a lot to make you think about who you are and put a purpose behind what you are doing. Makes you feel you are worthy to be here.”

Now, as she prepares to graduate, Maycott hopes her degree will open new opportunities to advance her career at Hard Rock.

Through it all, her mother’s voice never left her.

“That’s what kept me going,” she said. “I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.”

When she crosses the stage on May 15, her four children and seven grandchildren will be there cheering her on for reaching her dream.