Mother and Son: A Graduation Story 26 Years in the Making

Years of hard work, determination, and love led Colleen Myers ’08, MSN ’22, and her son Andrew Myers ’22 to be two of the 661 students who walked across the stage at Curry’s 2022 Commencement. Andrew received his bachelor’s in communication with honors and his mother Colleen earned her master’s in nursing.

Colleen said she first heard of Curry when Andrew was struggling with learning disabilities in elementary school. He had Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD), a communication issue that made it difficult for him to process sounds correctly, especially in noisy places, such as a classroom.

“Once I learned about Curry’s PAL program, it always gave me hope for him as he struggled in school,” said Colleen.

By chance, a friend and Curry employee asked her if she would ever consider teaching nursing clinicals at Curry. Colleen was working as a nurse, but she did not have her degree. “With my son’s challenges as my incentive, I enrolled in Curry’s RN-BSN program in 2004 and began teaching at Curry in 2009. I continued working full-time nights at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and taught clinical part time. It was challenging with four children at home.”

Andrew’s educational issues continued as he grew older and “after high school, continuing his education was literally never on his radar.” But Colleen said he always showed an interest and love of music, and she found a local audio production course where he thrived.  “With his confidence lifted, I asked if he might consider trying one course at Curry titled ‘Songwriting.’ He took this single course, then another and another,” said Colleen. Andrew eventually became a communication major.

“I cannot begin to explain the journey or the pride I have in him. His talent and tenacity have always carried him. He deserves all he has worked so incredibly hard to achieve.”

And while Andrew pursued his degree, Curry offered Colleen the opportunity to enter a special cohort with fellow clinical instructors to complete her master’s in nursing.

“All of it is beyond my wildest dreams. So many people helped us on this incredible journey. I am forever grateful. The moral is in the toughest times, listen for guidance. It is always there. It won’t be easy but keep the faith and have the backs of those you love!”