Amira Wilkins ’23 earned her degree in child and family studies at County College of Morris (CCM) late in 2022 and walked across the Mennen Sports Arena on Commencement day in May of 2023, along with her mother, a fellow graduate. Amira’s journey to graduation was not a traditional one. She had first enrolled at Montclair State University but found the cost prohibitive. So, she transferred to CCM to earn her degree in graphic design. Then she realized that graphic design was more of a hobby than what she wanted in a career and decided to return to CCM to earn a second degree.
Her decision to return to school at CCM was not a decision she made alone. That is because her mother, Nieasia Wilkins ’23, an esthetician, also made the brave decision to return to school and pursue her passion for fashion at CCM.
Even though they never took classes or carpooled together, Nieasia and Amira still found a way to share lasting memories on campus.
“Sometimes I would see her pop her head into my fashion class and say, ‘Hey mom, how’s it going,’” Nieasia shares. “I’m blessed and honored to have gone to school with my daughter. I went back to school to learn something that I love to do and I got the chance to see her do something she loves to do. I was able to experience that as a parent which not a lot of people get to do and I am grateful for that.”
“It was a nice experience going through school, meeting her professors and doing homework together,” Amira recounts. “We both knew the struggle and got through the good times and bad times together.”
Amira finished her degree in December 2022 and Nieasia finished hers in May 2023, making them both part of the Class of 2023.
Today, Amira works in the field of applied behavior analysis working with children with disabilities as a registered behavior technician. Nieasia is looking for a job in the fashion industry with the hope of becoming an entrepreneur and creating her own garment business in the future. Nieasia is also very involved with the CCM Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) and returns regularly to speak with incoming EOF students.