Lyn Thomas is a 52-year-old housemaid in the United States who recently realized her dream of earning a bachelor’s degree after 30 years of caring for others.
Lyn Thomas received her public health degree from the Borough of Manhattan Community College in New York. Lyn’s story is quite a remarkable and inspiring one. She transferred to New York at the age of 18 and preoccupied herself with working as a nanny. At the age of 26, Lyn Thomas became pregnant but the father absconded before the birth of her daughter. “Her father abandoned us before we even went to the hospital where she was born,” Lyn explained.
As the years passed, Thomas gave love a second chance and married. However, the relationship ended abruptly due to the husband’s substance abuse addiction. “He stole every penny I had saved, and he took everything,” stated Thomas. “I lost my flat, so my daughter and I spent some time sleeping in my Toyota Camry. I was once questioned by my kid, “Mommy, are we rich or poor?”
Despite these series of traumatic experiences and setbacks, Thomas never relented in her passion to become educated and earn a degree. She was adamant in her job as a domestic servant in New York City.
“I put a lot of effort into this. I had not completed high school. You can’t say no to a go-getter like me. I’ll carry it out,” Lyn Thomas said.
Lyn fully pursued her ambition after 30 years of working as a housemaid. Her entire tuition and sponsorship was made possible through her daughter.
With the intention of eventually attending college, she enrolled in a GED program at the SUNY Brooklyn Educational Opportunity Center (BEOC), New York, USA, in the fall of 2018. Thomas was one of the oldest students in her class when she enrolled at the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) in New York City. Reliving her schooling moments at BMCC, Lyn expressed “My time at BMCC was fantastic.”
She had been admitted to the public health program at the institution. Lyn Thomas graduated in June 2022 with the aid of her daughter and will work assiduously to be an inspiration to her daughter and to many struggling women in the world.