Kelly Giudice

WELLESLEY HILLS, Mass. (July 25, 2022) — When Kelly Giudice of Framingham, MA graduated from Algonquin Regional High School in 2009 she thought her grades weren’t high enough to be accepted into college and that the cost was out of her reach, so she joined the workforce. Kelly worked full-time alongside her husband at Trader Joe’s when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020. “We took a step back during that time, and I wanted to change my career and study to become a personal trainer,” said Kelly. “Once I began studying for my personal trainer certificate, I saw how easy it was for me to get back into the swing of being in school again. A fire was lit inside me to learn more, so I enrolled at MassBay to try some classes to see where they would take me.”

“My classes were scheduled to start in fall 2021, but I learned about MassBay’s STEM Starter Academy (SSA) summer program and I began the program in August,” she continued. “The SSA program is a free, two-week program designed to help students relearn the math skills needed to succeed in STEM classes. SSA and its incredible administrators provided me with so much support. The program helped me rediscover my math abilities and informed me of all the opportunities and resources MassBay has for students. The STEM Starter Academy gave me a sense of security and made me comfortable in knowing where to go when I needed academic help. It was the best start to college I could have asked for.”

Kelly enjoyed her time in her classes so much that her husband Mike was inspired to enroll in MassBay’s Associate in Science degree in Cybersecurity program. “Mike saw how much fun I was having in college, so he decided to start taking classes too,” Kelly explained. “Returning to school wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I just needed to show up, do the work, and everything else fell into place. Having great professors like Dr. Jeanie Tietjen allowed me explore topics that will benefit me down the road such as personal essay writing. My own family support system also was key to my exploring and doing well in my classes.”

Kelly earned a spot on MassBay’s Dean’s List every semester and was inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society by maintaining a consistent 4.0 GPA. “When I put my mind to something, I set an expectation for myself and I go all-in on reaching that goal,” she said. “I decided during the SSA program last summer that I would succeed and exceed. I always had a dream of enrolling in an anthropology program, and when I searched nearby programs, Wellesley College’s program came up. I thought, in a perfect world, Wellesley College would be an amazing program to join. My plan was to earn my associate degree at MassBay first and then transfer, but I applied to Wellesley College during my first semester at MassBay and was accepted into their Davis Degree Program.”

Kelly is looking forward to starting her studies in fall 2022 at Wellesley College to pursue her bachelor’s degree. She will continue to cheer on Mike in MassBay’s Cybersecurity program.