"The world won't wait you; must go and get it."
“The world won't wait; you must go and get it.” Jeanmarie McDonald
Jeanmarie McDonald has looked adversity in the face for most of her life.
But when she graduated this past spring from Queensborough she proved that trials and tribulations can be overcome.
Even hers.
Jeanmarie’s walk across the stage to receive her degree was the culmination of a journey that began 31 years ago when she first enrolled at Queensborough.
“I was a different person back then, struggling with drug addiction that landed me in a therapeutic community program in Rockaway Beach,” explained Jeanmarie who was 21 at the time. “I wanted to stay at Queensborough but withdrew because I was anxious to leave the halfway house and the only way to do that was to get a job.”
She was hired as a diner server in 1997, the same year she was married.
In the fall of 1998, Jeanmarie returned to Queensborough but had to withdraw again due to financial hardship. She went back to waiting tables for the next 35 years at Blue Bay, North Shore, Neptune in Queens, and Seven Seas in Great Neck.
Her job was taxing, but she thought, “Surely there is something in my future besides wiping down tables and taking breakfast orders.”
In 2014, at age 42, Jeanmarie changed direction and earned a medical assistant certification at a trade school. She was then hired per diem at Northshore Hospital in Manhasset and within six months was a full-time employee working in the high-risk pregnancy wing where she stayed for about seven years.
After Covid hit, Jeanmarie resigned from the hospital and stayed home to take care of her daughter.
“I never put myself first because my children were a top priority, but I knew if I did not make a move soon, the window to my dream would be closed forever.”
She re-enrolled at Queensborough in 2021.
And this time she stayed the course.
“I flourished in all my online courses and utilized every resource I could get my hands on.”
Counseling, women’s online support group, Food pantry, and QCC’s Thanksgiving food distribution.
Jeanmarie also was awarded the Barbara and Harry Sperber scholarship in the fall of 2022 and the Advocacy Resource Center awarded her $2500 to help pay rent and other living costs.
“Queensborough has given me strength. It is a campus that includes everyone, cares for everyone. A true melting pot, a place to grow and thrive.”
Last spring, when Jeanmarie received her degree in liberal arts and sciences, she held it close to her chest.
“I was afraid it might disappear unless I held it close to my heart.”
It did not disappear.
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