Graduating from college takes on a difference significance for everyone. Some take it for granted, others carry the pride from their family members who didn’t have the same opportunity to cross the stage in a cap and gown.
For Carolette McKenzie and her son Deondre McKenzie, the experience was special because they got to do it together.
The mother and son both received associate degrees from Bronx Community College (BCC) last month, where Carolette McKenzie studied nursing and Deondre McKenzie pursued criminal justice. Carolette McKenzie will continue on to Monroe College upon passing the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses, and Deondre McKenzie, who graduated with honors, will pursue a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in the fall.
Carolette McKenzie, 48, and her 22-year-old son both enrolled in the Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) at BCC. The program provides a tuition waiver for any gap between full-time tuition and financial aid, and students must apply for both federal and state aid to determine eligibility, according to BCC spokesperson Mary Duffy.
There are currently more than 1,800 BCC students enrolled in ASAP, and since the school is in the middle of fall enrollment, that number is expected to increase exponentially, according to Duffy.
The program, which also covers textbooks and MetroCards, allowed the mother and son to graduate on time and without debt, Carolette McKenzie said.
Carolette McKenzie immigrated from Kingston, Jamaica in 2017, and Deondre McKenzie followed in 2020. The duo now lives in the Norwood section of the Bronx.
Getting their feet wet in their career paths of interest, Carolette McKenzie works as a nursing attendant on the night shift in the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Montefiore Medical Center and Deondre is a loss prevention detective at T.J. Maxx — both jobs they held while students.
“I would like to pursue a career in law, subject to change as the days go by and my interests change,” Deondre McKenzie said. “I’m growing further interested in investigations, but I have a passion for justice.”
The mother and son shared the same academic advisor Laisa Quezada, who provides support to ASAP students. She helped the duo navigate their academic success, making sure they took the right classes and could graduate early.
“As their academic ASAP advisor, I had the privilege of witnessing their remarkable journey firsthand,” Quezada said. “I am honored to have played a small role in Carolette and Deondre’s academic journey, but it is their unwavering dedication and tenacity that truly propelled them forward. I remember the first day Carolette sat in my office and promised she would be my first nursing student to graduate from BCC, and she did.”
Carolette McKenzie and Deondre McKenzie encouraged other BCC students not to lose sight of their goals and to reach out to professors and staff for help navigating class and work schedules.
BCC offers more than 40 academic programs that prepare students for careers and further education. The college has about 7,000 students.
Reach Aliya Schneider at aschneider@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260-4597. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
