Dawson College graduate Tameka Charron faced major challenges throughout her studies, including coping with her mother’s passing. Despite the hardships, she defied the odds and graduated last week.
Charron was in Dawson’s Community, Recreation and Leadership Training (CRLT) program since 2019. Her mother, Rhonda Adams, supported her from day one until she passed away from breast cancer in May 2020.
In the midst of grieving and trying to find stability, Charron says the support she received from the CRLT community is one of the main reasons she overcame those challenges.
“They’re not just there academically for you; they literally supported me in every way possible. Financially, if I needed help, like (a) food basket, it’s a safe spot to go to talk. They were my support. They got me through,” Charron said.
Although her mother isn’t with her anymore, the lessons she taught Charron about navigating life are everlasting.
Charron says she kept pushing forward and graduated to make her mother proud and to show her son, Chase, that you can achieve anything despite the hard times you may go through.
“But I think as I grew up, she was also a single mom, and she never stopped learning. She never stopped growing. She had faced a million challenges as well, and going through cancer, but she literally always pushed through. It was never, ‘Oh, I’m going to stop growing.’ No, it was research. It was learning. It was always trying to better herself,” Charron said.
“I could have stopped and been like, ‘Oh, I’m grieving,’ and made any excuse in the book. But I took a pause, and I went back, and I was like, ‘No, this is for me, and this is what’s going to better me and my future and help other people who are going through similar things.’”
As her graduation approached, she made vision boards and expressed how excited she was to finish school. When she finally walked across the stage to receive her college diploma after seven years of hard work, she says it felt surreal.
Charron also won the CRLT Perseverance Award at her program’s banquet during graduation. She says she felt thrilled to see her mentor, Simeon Pompey, and one of her teachers, Debbie, there, as they had supported her every step of the way.
“And it was amazing. I finally did it,” Charron said.
Charron says students who are currently struggling can do their best to stay persistent, as they’ll eventually reach the finish line.
In the future, she hopes to work in fields ranging from dance and singing to helping people in the community who are struggling with obstacles such as grief, anxiety, depression, or single parenthood.
“Step by step. It took me, I think, seven years to finish the program, but it’s a three-year program. So it doesn’t matter how long it takes you,” Charron said. “You just keep going.”
