Meet Akedra W.

Online Business Administration graduate

Sometimes, doing things the hard way is a valuable lesson. 2019 Business Administration A.A.S. graduate Akedra Watson learned that lesson and she says she’s better off for it.

After bouncing between high schools in Mississippi and Texas, Akedra moved north to New York and finished her senior year at Troy High in 2015.

After losing her financial aid in the fall of 2017, she ended up paying her own way for the rest of her time at the college. She could have given up, but she kept on going. In fact, the following semester, she was on the dean’s list.

“The semesters I had to pay out of my own pocket made me really value my education more,” she said. “I learned from my mistakes but I also knew I was guaranteeing my own success.”

Akedra worked full-time while taking a full load of courses at the college. In fact, she took all of her courses online, something she said made it possible for her to achieve her dream of a college education. “I ended up enjoying the online classes and they made it possible for me to study when I could fit it in,” she said.

With her mother 1000 miles away in Mississippi, Akedra was more or less on her own to figure the college process and keep herself on track to complete her degree.

“I’ve always had big dreams, and Hudson Valley is part of making those come true. I never saw myself graduating from Troy High but to be graduating from college is a great accomplishment for me,” she said. “I’m doing it for my little cousins and nieces and nephews so that when they grow up and want to go to college, they’ll have someone in the family who can talk to them about it.”