Tanika Baptiste, B.A. in African American and African Studies talks with Academic Advising Enrichment (AAE) about what the UC Davis Degree Completion Program means to her.
AAE: What got in the way when it came to completing your degree originally?
My freshman year was a very difficult transition. During my first quarter, I experienced significant trauma that affected me deeply, although at the time I was largely in denial about how much it had impacted me. I became very withdrawn and spent a lot of time isolated in my dorm.
I was also intimidated by the UC system and by being away from home. I lacked confidence and often felt like I didn't belong. Looking back, I can see that I was struggling to find my footing both personally and academically, and I didn't yet have the tools or perspective to understand what I was experiencing.
Ultimately, I stepped away from school. For many years, I carried that unfinished chapter with me.
AAE: Why did you decide to return?
I returned because I wanted to finish what I started and give myself greater opportunities.
Completing my bachelor's degree was something I yearned to accomplish for years. Even when life moved forward and I built a career and experienced so many other things, there was always this nagging feeling that something was unfinished.
Eventually, I realized that I didn't want to spend the rest of my life wondering what it would feel like to finish. I wanted to give myself the opportunity to complete something that had been important to me since I was a young woman.
Returning to UC Davis was also an act of reclaiming something that I had once believed I had lost. I was no longer the intimidated freshman who felt like she didn't belong. I came back with greater confidence, life experience, professional experience, and a much stronger understanding of who I was.
AAE: Now that you have successfully completed your degree, what does it mean to you?
It means the world to me.
For me, this degree represents a dream deferred and ultimately realized.
I am incredibly proud of the discipline and perseverance I cultivated along the way. Finishing my degree means that what happened during my freshman year did not determine the rest of my story.
There were years when I wondered whether I would ever finish. To finally have that degree in my hands feels incredibly freeing. It feels like I have released something I had been carrying for a very long time.
It has also opened my imagination about what is possible. Completing my bachelor's degree means that graduate school is now a possibility. It has given me permission to dream bigger.
Most of all, I am proud that I came back for myself.
AAE: What are your plans from here?
I'm committed to continuing to learn and grow.
Professionally, I plan to continue working in the arts and entertainment industry, where I have built a career that I am deeply passionate about. I am a part of the leadership team of The Freight in downtown Berkeley, CA where I serve as the Associate Director of Audience Services. I'm also a theatre director, actor, and producer. I want to continue creating, leading, and contributing to the arts in meaningful ways.
Currently, I am exploring graduate programs and thinking intentionally about what the next level of my education could look like. I got my Real Estate license last year and I am currently studying Cosmetology.
More broadly, I want to remain a lifelong learner. Completing my bachelor's degree reminded me that education doesn't have to happen on someone else's timeline. There is always an opportunity to grow, change direction, and pursue something that matters to you.
AAE: What impact did the UC Davis Degree Completion Program have on you?
The UC Davis Degree Completion Program gave me the opportunity to finish a dream that I had carried for years.
What was particularly meaningful about returning as an adult was that I came back with an entirely different perspective. I had life experience, professional experience, and a much stronger understanding of myself. The program gave me a pathway to reconnect with an educational goal that had remained important to me for decades.
It also helped me prove something to myself: my story was not defined by what happened to me when I was 18.
I didn't belong any less because I struggled as a freshman. I didn't lose my opportunity because my path took longer than I expected. And I wasn't too old to finish.
The Degree Completion Program helped me turn a dream deferred into a dream realized. It gave me the opportunity to close a chapter that had been open for years and, in doing so, set me free to imagine what comes next.