My experience as a college student has been filled with lessons and adjustments different than most. I will think back when I finally graduate and remember that I was tested as a person, a woman and a daughter. Most come to college knowing they will discover who they are.

They leave their sheltered lives protected by their parents to embark on an adventure to find themselves and discover their futures.

I have learned more about who I am since I began college than I expected to learn in my entire life, discovered strength in myself and found the ability to do things I wasn’t aware I could do.

It all began in spring 2005. I started classes that semester in an unusual but grateful way. My mother, Brenda Hebert, began classes at Nicholls and shared two with me. My father, Chris Hebert, has been attending Nicholls for five years; if you’ve had the pleasure of meeting him, it is sure to be unforgettable. He is a character in his own story.

My mother was unlike my father. She spent her life as most mothers do – living for their children. Her attending Nicholls was a change that she welcomed for herself.

College life for me was difficult and filled with many unwanted struggles. I quit high school in ninth grade and received my GED two years before I finally decided to pursue college. At 21 most students are graduating college, and I was just beginning.

My mother’s presence on campus made things feel more comfortable. Mothers have a way of bringing those feelings with them.

She always encouraged me to go after what I wanted no matter how difficult it would be, and I spent many nights watching her study only to achieve failing grades.

Three months after she decided college was not for her, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and I withdrew from Nicholls to take care of her. She passed away in 2007, the day before Easter Sunday.

It has taken me a year and a half to find the courage my mother found when she first began striving for a degree to return. For me Nicholls is filled with scattered memories behind me pushing me to continue and finish what she felt I was always meant for.

Her bravery to return to college at 54 years old has become my bravery to return to the place she spent her last year with me. I know the years ahead leading to my graduation will be filled with emotions and struggles, but I know I have the strength to achieve them thanks to the lessons my mother taught me through her life and death.