GRADUATE PROFILE
Keisha Gifford, BA ’21 Thanks to her unshakable resolve and work ethic, Keisha Gifford’s best life is yet to come. In her work for a large urban school district, Keisha Gifford was swimming against the current of other peoples’ credentials. After two decades, she decided to turn the tide. “I work in the largest urban K-12 district in New Jersey and always felt inadequate among so many people that were more accomplished academically,” said Gifford, a management specialist for the Newark Board of Education (BOE) in New Jersey. “It is not that I lacked ability, I just didn’t have the formal education to support my knowledge base. When I decided to enroll at TESU, everything changed. Something ignited in me the determination to push forward and not stop. It was a spark that caught fire.” In the 24 months following her enrollment, the former N.J. Army National Guard member completed the 23 TESU courses necessary to earn her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. Most of her assignments and exams were accomplished while working full time remotely, and ensuring that her son, Trent, age 14, was successful in his own daily virtual learning. “Suddenly, my desire to earn a degree was at the forefront, and I couldn’t imagine losing my momentum,” noted Gifford, who went on to earn a Graduate Certificate in Organizational Leadership in 2021 and is now enrolled in the Master of Science in Management (MSM) degree program in Organizational
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