Mother of Three First to Earn AA, BA and MS Degrees at RCC

First Student to Earn Associate’s, Bachelor’s and Master’s
Through SUNY Rockland to Graduate With Master’s This Month

Suffern, NY - A mother of three young children is the first person to complete the path from associate's degree to master's degree at Rockland Community College (RCC).

In 2002, Jessica Blau of Suffern decided it was time to earn a college degree. Busy raising her first child, she knew it wouldn’t be easy, so she decided that Rockland Community College was the ideal place to start. She learned that she could achieve her goal of becoming an early childhood education teacher and earn an associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s while attending most of her classes on the Suffern campus.

Upon earning her associate’s degree, Blau pursued her bachelor’s in Liberal Studies from Purchase College while taking the majority of her classes on RCC’s Suffern campus through the Purchase College at Rockland Community College program.  Before graduating, Blau and her husband, Greg, had their second child.

With bachelor’s in hand, Blau needed a master’s to teach in the public school system so embarked on earning it in Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Special Education through a program co-sponsored at RCC by the College of New Rochelle (CNR). Not only were most of her classes on RCC’s campus, but by taking them through the RCC/CNR program, she received a considerable discount over enrolling in the program at the New Rochelle campus.

Enrolling with other master’s candidates in 2006, the RCC/CNR group of students, called a cohort, began their three year journey together, taking most of their classes at RCC and carpooling to the ones they needed to take on the campus of the College of New Rochelle. Before completing her coursework, Blau had her third child. Speaking of the difficulty of raising a family while attending college, she said, “It was hard work, but the RCC Education Department really works with its students. They were so accommodating to work with my schedule. I feel very lucky.”

Blau, along with her cohort, will attend the College of New Rochelle’s graduation exercises at Radio City Music Hall on Thursday, May 21.

For more information about the Master's Program, contact Louise Schreier, Coordinator of the Co-sponsored Program, at lschreie@sunyrockland.edu, 845-574-4482.

For more information about earning a bachelor’s while attending Rockland Community College, contact Grazyna Gliwiak at 845-574 – 4744, ggliwiak@sunyrocklnd.edu

Stay informed: sign up for RCC's free monthly e-newsletter of events by visiting www.sunyrockland.edu and clicking into the "Sign up for events newsletter" button on the lower right. Suffern campus map: http://www.sunyrockland.edu/about/campus-guide/map

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Rockland Community College, a unit of the State University of New York, is located 25 miles northwest of NYC. The majority of its students transfer to four-year colleges, and many find immediate employment upon earning their associate's degree or certificate. The College also offers others, from preschoolers to senior citizens, the opportunity to simply learn something new. Quality education...at a price you can afford.