Congratulations Rosa Nin – You're Our Hero!

Rosa Nin recently graduated from Endicott College - Boston with a degree in Business Management. It was a long and hard road for Rosa to say the least. It took more than 10 years and three attempts before she found the right fit at Endicott College – Boston. But the struggle to succeed is only a testament to her strength and perseverance. She swears that Sitters Without Borders made her journey possible. “Without question SWOB is the single most important factor in my being able to graduate." 

Rosa grew up in Jamaica Plain, after moving to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic with her mom when she was a year old. She took a year off after high school and began her college career at UMass Boston. A year later, she dropped out. As the next several years passed, she worked and had two beautiful children. In the back of her mind, going back to school was still very much her plan.

She enrolled at another institution but with a demanding job and the lack of childcare, she was forced to drop out again. In 2017, with the help of the Jeremiah Program, she enrolled in Endicott College - Boston. Even with the support, she still found it difficult. “I was going to Endicott in the evenings and my mom would watch the kids two evenings a week. I would pick them up at 9:00 pm or 9:30 pm across town where my mom lived and take them home. At that point they were hungry and still had homework to do. Each morning I would wake up at 6:00 am, drop my kids off at two different schools and go to work. They were exhausted, I was exhausted, even my mom was exhausted because she still works during the day. She was doing her best but it was taking a toll on me and my kids were suffering.”

Soon after Rosa discovered SWOB. “I signed up right away. They have a rigorous intake process and it took a long time, but it felt like a safe program to me. It made me feel comfortable knowing that they were being thorough by spending this much time evaluating me and the sitters who would come to my house. The kids love the sitters. I find their training to be impressive. I love it – they follow my schedule for the kids better than I do! This past semester we had two sitters – one for each of the courses I was taking. As school was coming to an end, it was a bittersweet moment for the kids because the sitters would not longer be coming anymore.”

For Rosa there are three reasons why getting her degree was so important.

"I was able to finish something that I started. My mom gave up a lot to come to the U.S. and I owed her to show that I could succeed.”

"Getting this degree has given me the confidence to move up in my career. At my last job I was severely underpaid. I loved my job, but I couldn’t pay my bills and had no upward mobility. I got my Associates Degree from Endicott last year and was able to get a new job that paid $20,000 more than my previous job!”

Finally, explained Rosa, “As a mom, I want to be a good example for my children and for them to see me persevere in getting my degree…and experiencing it with me, I want them to see that they can do it too!”