Amy M. 布兰切特

2017届毕业生——新利18给了她信心

作者:JoAnne breult, MA
1984年和2012年的毕业生

用一个词来形容艾米. 布兰切特很有韧性. 作为一个工作的单身母亲 multiple jobs, Amy has overcome poverty, personal struggles, and health challenges. She 毕业 from Bristol with an associate degree and has evolved into a strong advocate for public higher education and a community leader.

Amy, class of 2017, enrolled in general studies because it was flexible and provided the opportunity to explore what she really wanted to do. 在一次偶然的相遇 在联邦学院中心，艾米遇到了史密斯博士. 社会学教授Colleen Avedikian说. Colleen handed out literature about PHENOM, the Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts, and recruited Amy to join the fight against student debt. 这次会议 是偶然的. Colleen educated Amy on the state of the educational system and Amy now had a relevant platform to develop her voice as an activist and leader. “科琳 is one of the most down to earth people I know,” observed Amy. “不管是什么私人的 problems I was dealing with she was always there for me offering support.” 

Amy had experience with the public education system advocating for her son. 她是 concerned about completing her degree due to financial constraints. “处理 Colleen and PHENOM made sense for me because now I was advocating for my own education.” Amy stated that one of the biggest problems for students is dealing with student debt. “Our students are busy working multiple jobs so that they can pay their living expenses and pay tuition and they are still graduating with a ton of debt,” 说艾米. “It hasn’t been easy being a student and a single parent, sometimes it is a juggling act.” 

Amy strongly believes that personal obstacles can prevent students from graduating but support from people who care can make a difference. 在她大学的最后一年， 艾米被诊断出肺部有血块. 她住院的时候，科琳 brought her coffee and magazines and helped her remain positive. 获得学位 has been all about the journey and the friends she has met along the way. 

Kathleen Torpey Garganta, former Vice President of Enrollment Services, also inspired 感谢艾米的支持和慷慨. 在新利18上学时，艾米想起了一次黑暗 time when she had to flee her apartment due to personal safety concerns. “我只是选了 up and moved out of my apartment with one hand dragging a garbage bag stuffed with 私人物品和我儿子的手放在另一边.她搬进了一间简陋的廉租房 一无所有. “Kathy and Colleen came to my new apartment and brought furniture, dishes, blankets, and filled my refrigerator with food. 我将永远心存感激. 他们给了我希望.”

Kathy, an alumna of Bristol’s Dental Hygiene Program, also helped Amy receive the 她急需的牙齿护理. 艾米被智齿嵌生所折磨 由于口腔感染而痛苦地扭动着. “我需要做口腔手术 拔掉四颗牙齿. Because I was on blood thinners and I had blood clots in lungs, I could not find a dentist that would operate on me or take my state health insurance,” 说艾米. Kathy went on a campaign using her contacts in the dental field and made phone calls until she found a dentist that would perform the surgery and ultimately 减轻艾米的痛苦.

While attending Bristol, Amy studied government, communication and “had taken every 开设写作课程”. These courses helped Amy develop her voice as an advocate 获得领导角色. Amy served on the Presidential Search, Institutional 效率和保留委员会. 当选为新利18学生议会主席， 她为学生带来了积极的变化. “每个校园都提供免费停车场 除了新贝德福德校区以外的学生. 他们得付市区停车费 我们认为这是不公平的，”艾米回忆道. “作为学生会的一员，我们工作 with the administration and persuaded the college to pay for parking at a local garage so that 新贝德福德 students could also have free parking.”

Amy’s most memorable experience occurred at a PHENOM rally in Boston the summer she 毕业. As the President of PHENOM, she presented a speech to over 5,000 people, 提倡无债务教育. 在一个温暖的夏日，她织起了自己的衣服 story into her speech as she jubilantly told her audience she had finally 毕业. Shaded by the majestic elms in the oldest public park in America, the crowd erupted 在掌声. 那是她的决定性时刻. “我哭了，”艾米说. 我很感动.”她的 personal struggles and hard work had finally paid off. “最重要的是 新利18给了我信心，”艾米说.

She realizes the importance of attaining a bachelor’s degree and is enrolled at UMASS Dartmouth as a political science major and English literature minor. 在毕业 with her bachelor’s degree, she will seek her master’s degree in public policy.

Amy works in the guardianship program for Family Service Association and has returned to Bristol as an employee working as a clerk in the Office of Student Life. 的一部分 her role is organizing student events and the other part is assisting students who 需要住房、衣服和食物. “这是我的爱好，”艾米说. “返回 去新利18感觉不错.” She remembers the help and guidance she received as a student 她想把爱传递出去.

Through perseverance and the marketable skills she learned at Bristol, she has emerged 作为福尔里弗的社区领袖. Amy是南海岸基础公司的董事会成员 以及低收入诊所“健康第一”. She serves as the treasurer of the Flint Neighborhood Association and vice president of communication for Toastmasters. 她还戴着 colonial costume on weekends and provides tours at the Lafayette Durfee House. 

Amy ran for a seat on the 福尔河 School Committee in 2017. 虽然她没有 win, the “learning experience” has not extinguished her aspirations for running for 将来担任公职.