Cindy Gellins grew up in a military family and moved around every three years throughout her childhood for her dad’s assignments. She is the oldest of four girls, and her mother’s secondary language is English. These aspects of her life posed unique challenges to Cindy’s success in grade school.
“I struggled a lot. I never thought I was smart enough, and I didn’t believe in myself. I just thought college wasn’t in the cards for me,” she said.
A couple of years after high school graduation, she tried to begin an associate degree but stopped short. “I just felt like I wasn’t cut out for it. I was scared to fail like I had many times throughout grade school,” she explained. Soon after that, she and her husband, Brett, had their first child. “I put my life on hold for the baby, but really, that was just another excuse,” Cindy said.
As Cindy adjusted to motherhood, she was inspired by her husband to rethink her educational goals. “He was pursuing his bachelor’s while balancing his Air Force career, and I started thinking about my own goals. He was so supportive and encouraged me to go for it, so I did.”
She began her associate degree with Georgia Military College. While she was completing it, she and Brett also welcomed their daughter. Cindy noted that “it took so long” because Brett was deployed every year during that time, and she always took a break from school during his deployments since she was managing their family without him.
Four years later, she graduated. “It was a big, big deal – one of the happiest days of my life. I did it! From that moment, I felt like I could take on the world. I knew that if I could get my associate degree, there was no reason I couldn’t go after a bachelor’s.” From this point on, Cindy believed she could do whatever she put her mind to.
About the same time, Brett graduated with his master’s in Consumer Quality Management from UA. As they both celebrated, Brett encouraged his wife to dream big and said, “I don’t see why UA wouldn’t be an option for you to continue your degree – it would just have to be online. We could make it a family thing.” Cindy’s response? “My eyes got huge, and I was so excited, thinking Yes! We can do this.”
In January 2017, Cindy began her bachelor’s in Consumer Affairs through UA’s 100% online program. “I was super-scared, wondering if I had what it takes to become a UA alum, but my belief in myself had grown by that point, and I knew I could chip away at the degree little by little. With my husband who was my biggest supporter and teammate by my side, I knew I could accomplish this dream.”
She said the convenient online format helped her balance the other responsibilities in her life along with going to school; she would usually wake up before her children so that she could have some uninterrupted time to focus on schoolwork. She said the curriculum has been helpful to her professionally and personally: “I have learned how important communication is in the workplace as well as the home. I’ve learned how to successfully manage and resolve issues in high performance organizations while personally being a smarter consumer.”
Cindy will complete her bachelor’s in May 2020 and intends to participate in UA’s Commencement ceremony. “This is the biggest moment of my life. Having babies was great and getting married was great, but this is a personal thing, and it’s the biggest and most trying task I’ve ever accomplished.”
To make sure he could be there for her big day, her husband scheduled a deployment around Cindy’s graduation. But May ceremonies are canceled due to social distancing measures, with graduates invited to participate in August commencement, and Brett is scheduled for a deployment in August. “I can’t walk without my biggest supporter there – he’s the champion of my story,” Cindy said. She submitted a special request to participate in a later graduation, and now she will be able to celebrate in December 2020 with her husband there to enjoy it with her.
Cindy plans to seek career opportunities with the Department of Defense or local city government, all of which require a bachelor’s degree. She also plans to pursue a master’s – online through UA, of course. After all, it’s a family tradition now.
Published: August 31st, 2020