Stronger Than Yesterday!
After extensive therapy for cranial nerve damage, Alex Boyd needed a change in her
life. When a cousin told her about “this great college out in California, I looked
up SMC and was captivated by the serene atmosphere of the campus,” she said, “so,
I decided to look into the programs offered. My mom said, ‘You should go,’ and I did.”
Alex — this year’s Student Trustee on the SMC Board of Trustees and a former Associated Students Budget Director — moved from New York and enrolled at SMC in 2014. “I just walked onto campus and tried to crash a Black Collegians Program math class,” she said.
She was told to go talk to SMC counselor Sherri Bradford, who heads the Black Collegians Program, “so I went straight in. Ms. Bradford dropped everything and wrote a request to get me into the class. I have blossomed because of her and Black Collegians.”
There are a lot of things Alex used to take for granted, but “now I push harder, and there is a fight in me.” At SMC, Math Lab coordinator Judith Mosher helped Alex with the learning challenges she faced, and counselor Lisa Courto in the High Tech Training Center worked with Alex twice a week and made a real impact.
“When I was the AS Budget Director, I realized how much I loved being a voice and having the ability to make a change and have an impact,” said Alex. “I have strong women in my life who refuse defeat and give love and support. This circle has allowed me to flourish and be the best I can be.”
Alex’s mother, Hermin Price, came for a visit a year after Alex moved to California, wondering why her “baby was so fixated with SMC.” She accompanied Alex to the campus one day, and that very day, became an SMC student herself. Hermin, the mother of five and grandmother of six, was born in Kingston, Jamaica, where she attended school until she was 13. In 1970, she moved to Brooklyn, NY, and earned her GED around 2005.
Like her daughter, Hermin joined the Black Collegians Program. She also found help and support through the Learning Disabilities Program and the campus tutoring services.
Hermin loved all of her classes, but one of her favorites was her first one at SMC: English 85, Reading and Writing 1. “After being away from school, this class really helped me transition as an older adult on campus,” she said. “And I just love George Davison,” she said of her SMC English instructor.
“Now I’m a big fan of SMC, and talking to everyone about it,” said Hermin. Four years later, Alex is graduating with an Associate degree in Communication and Hermin, in her late 60s, is graduating with an Associate degree and a certificate in Early Childhood Education.
Alex plans to transfer and major in Media Studies, and have a career in public policy in the health industry. Hermin plans to take some time off, then explore SMC’s Emeritus Program for older adults.
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