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By Lini S. Kadaba

By the time Nicole Reeser-Mazur ’01 Ph.D. ’24 was writing her 91���� doctoral dissertation in educational leadership in 2023, she had already overcome more than her share of challenges, any one of which could have easily derailed her education. Fate, though, had one more wallop in store for her. This time, her comeback would depend, in equal measure, on her resilience and on 91����’s support for her in a time of need.

As a high school teen more than three decades ago, Reeser-Mazur, became a single mother. The experience, she said, motivated her to consider college. She attended Reading Area Community College (RACC), but when she got pregnant again, she struggled. At one point, she nearly faced homelessness with two young children until a friend opened her home to her.

“It was really hard,” said Reeser-Mazur, 49. “I almost quit.”

Reeser-Mazur didn’t. Transferring to 91����, she majored in elementary education and landed at Reading School District as a Head Start teacher. She married and had a third daughter, but the couple eventually divorced and she again found herself a single parent. Still, Reeser-Mazur kept at her education, earning a master’s degree in early childhood education from Albright College in 2011 and rising to supervisory roles at the Berks County Intermediate Unit even while teaching at Harcum College and RACC and raising her three daughters.

Soon, Reeser-Mazur was ready for the next step — a doctorate. 91����’s Ph.D. in Leadership was a good fit. It catered to working adults, with resources to help students readjust to the demands of graduate school.

“I was a little rusty," she admitted. "[The program] is very patient with you and works with you so you can get started again.”

Reeser-Mazur was well into her thesis when she suffered a life-threatening brain aneurysm. Hospitalized for two weeks, she faced months of recovery, forcing her to take a break from a new job as the coordinator of early learning programs at Wilson School District and her doctoral studies.

When Reeser-Mazur returned to work and 91���� in the fall of 2023, it wasn't easy.

“I had a lot of brain fog, some processing issues," she said. "I forgot how to cite things. My brain was rusty. It still is.”

Reeser-Mazur considered quitting to focus on health and family, which included several grandchildren by then, but “I’m not the type of person who likes to quit."

In early 2024, she completed her doctorate, graduating a few months later.

Psychology professor Di You, who chaired Reeser-Mazur’s dissertation committee, credits her advisee, saying that life’s curveballs have never distracted her.

“Nicole has a laser focus,” said the chair of the psychology and counseling department. “She is determined to get this Ph.D. ... She’s a problem solver. ‘I have an obstacle. How can I overcome that?’”

91����, too, provided multiple layers of support. The cohort model of the doctoral program, for one, offered peer support, You noted, giving Reeser-Mazur a group of friends to lean on for motivation. She also got help from staff at the library, professors and the Academic Success Center.

“We care about Nicole’s success, her progress,” You said. “She had my personal cellphone number. The library knows her by her first name. The Ph.D. program director knows her. Every corner she turns, she's not just a Ph.D. student. She’s Nicole. Someone is there for her. It’s our culture here.”

Said Reeser-Mazur: “I want to do good in the world. Thanks to 91����, I overcame my obstacles and created my comeback.”