Hamden Grandmother, Granddaughter Graduate Gateway Together

HAMDEN, CT — (Contributed): Lois Mayo Pearce, 69, and her granddaughter Autumn Marie Gibbs, 21, will walk in the Gateway Community College commencement on Thursday, May 26, at the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater in Bridgeport.

Both Hamden residents, they worked during the pandemic toward an Associate in Arts Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences. Both persevered despite virtual learning amid, sometimes feeling alone, in a pandemic school environment.

They never gave up.

Pearce promised her father, before he passed away when she was a teenager, that she would go to college. It was this promise that gave her determination to continue.

“When I make a promise, I keep it,” she said.

Pearce began her collegiate journey at the New York City Community College (now New York City Technological College) in 1970. Marriage, children, and entrepreneurial pursuits slowed the progression of her completing a degree.

But she never gave up the dream of finishing.

Pearce returned to school when she could take advantage of the tuition waiver offered to Connecticut residents 62 and older.

“At that time my children were grown, I had had a successful career, and the price was right,” she said.

A lifelong learner, she embraced the opportunity to complete her Associates Degree in Liberal Arts. Recently she was inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. Her daughter gave her a stone that reads “never give up,” and she didn’t.

As a transfer student in the fall of 1977, her first class was Introduction to Literature. Gateway Community College was located on Long Wharf Drive when she began taking night classes.

“I chose Gateway because I was living in West Haven, and it was convenient to attend,” she said. “I had inquired into the four-year colleges in the area, and Gateway was also more affordable.”

An entrepreneur, a Master Bridal Consultant, her busy schedule also kept her from continuing school.

Gibbs began at Southern Connecticut State University and switched to Gateway Community College, Church Street campus. Gibbs, a graduate of New Haven Academy (with a class size of approximately 100 students) found the transition to Southern to be somewhat overwhelming. Being at Gateway offered her a smaller community, with a close-knit opportunity to speak with professors, academic advisors, and use other helpful resources.

Gibbs found it easy to apply to Gateway Community College. As a full-time employee at Amazon, she was able to pay her tuition costs out of pocket versus taking out student loans to attend a local university. She never gave up.

In September, now adjusted to the college experience, Gibbs will return to Southern Connecticut State University as a transfer student and will work towards a bachelor’s degree in Psychology.

While at Gateway, Pearce rediscovered her talent for writing and has created a career as a professional Copywriter/Content writer. She plans to attend Southern in the fall to pursue a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies.

Gateway Community College is one of the 12 community colleges recently consolidated into one singly accredited institution to sustain and enhance education quality, affordability, and accessibility in the state of Connecticut. The Connecticut State Community College (CT State) plans to officially open on July 1, 2023, and will start accepting applications in Fall 2022.