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Meet Scholarship Winner Paris Brantley

Dec 01, 2024

Forty-one-year-old teacher and mother of four Paris Brantley has been awarded the inaugural Ruth B. Loving Scholarship. Hailing from Springfield, Massachusetts, Paris now teaches at the Care Center in Holyoke, where she previously earned her associate degree from Bard College. She is completing her bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies and designing her own area of concentration in social justice, advocacy, and education through filmmaking, with plans to open a school in honor of grandmother. "It has been a long, arduous journey with a lot of struggle and thankless effort," Paris says, "but right now, I finally feel like I am nearing the end and approaching where my path was meant to lead me. Life coming full circle."

Every adult student has a story. What's your story?

I started off right out of high school with a full scholarship to Smith College, but my dream was to move to NYC and become a filmmaker, so I attended Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey for its proximity to New York. I left FDU in my second semester, and spent the next 20 years learning about life the hard way and becoming a mother. In 2016, I was presented with an opportunity to obtain an associate degree in liberal arts from Bard Microcollege, housed in The Care Center in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Those two and a half years were a struggle, as I became pregnant with my third child while in an abusive relationship, and my grandmother/best friend was diagnosed with early onset dementia. After taking care of my grandmother and three daughters as a single parent, and my grandmother finally transitioning from this world a year ago, I found myself starting a school in honor of everything she taught me, teaching at The Care Center, and being accepted into the UWW program at UMass. Life has a funny way of showing you who you truly are.

What does winning this scholarship mean to you?

Winning the scholarship makes me feel worthy, something I have not felt in a long time due to repetitive rejection from life. It also makes me feel seen and motivates me to exceed beyond my best, now that I have confirmation that people are watching, listening, hearing, and valuing who I am.

What is the best part about being a UWW Interdisciplinary Studies student?

There are so many “best” parts about being a UWW student, one being that I am surrounded by professors, peers, and people who understand and have walked a similar journey. The flexibility and compassion, and best of all, the fact that the life experience I have already lived can count towards degree credit, which makes even the so-called mistakes/lessons, losses, and rejections worth the journey.

How do you balance work, school, and other responsibilities?

I am very meticulous and take pride in my organizational skills, even though at times it can get overwhelming. My strategy for having a balanced life is compartmentalizing everything: giving everyone and everything a space, place, and time, including time for myself, which I affectionately call my “Winnie the Pooh” time. I also prioritize prayer, yoga, and “together time” with my daughters. I have learned over the years what it is most important to dedicate your most valuable assets (your heart and your time) to, and what will give you the greatest return on investment. To this day, I do not regret taking time off school and work and putting everything on hold to take care of my grandmother and children. To be honest, that was the best time of my life to date, and the greatest learning experience, which I could not have acquired in an institution.

What are your plans for the future—professionally and personally?

My future plans consist of being able to provide the best life possible for my daughters without the constant stress of financial burden. This includes getting the school I began after the passing of my grandmother in her honor up and running, to keep her memory and heart alive, and also buying a home and traveling the world with my girls.

*The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the person being featured and do not necessarily reflect those of the University.
 

University Without Walls scholarships exist thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends.