College graduation is a proud moment for any parent. For University of North Texas at Dallas graduate Nicole Everitt, that's especially true, because she IS a parent.
'It's 6 children, yeah," Everitt said, noting a few of her classmates also have children. "But I don't think anyone has 6. I think that that might be a record!"
The 35-year-old got her Bachelor of Science degree from UNT Dallas this week, 17 years after her first attempt at college. She wants to be a surgeon one day.
"So this is a pretty large departure, I think, from what 18-year-old me expected," Everitt said. "But you know, sometimes that is the way life unfolds."
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Everitt was diagnosed with hearing loss when she was 5 years old.
"My mother jokes that she thought I had selective listening as a child," Everitt said laughing. "When I was young, I had never met a physician with hearing loss. I didn't meet anyone with hearing loss, actually."
When Everitt went to college for the first time, she struggled to hear lectures and keep up with what was happening in class.
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"I really floundered, I had a really challenging time," Everitt said.
The turning point was during the pandemic after a friend died from cancer, then her youngest son was born with medical issues. Everitt decided to give college another try.
"I began to think, what could I do if I could do it, right? What could I do if it was really, actually possible," Everitt said. She enrolled at UNT Dallas and got hearing accessibility help. "Just because I had learned from the first time that I need those services, and advocating for myself is going to be an important part of this journey."
This week, Everitt graduated summa cum laude...straight A's. She's applied to medical school.
"I think as technology improves, as the global view of people with disabilities improves, I think that we need to make spaces for those experiences to come in and influence things like healthcare," Everitt said. "As a person with a disability, wanting to make sure we bring more of that to healthcare just so that patients feel like they belong and that they are seen."
In addition to having 6 children at home, Everitt also worked part-time while she was in school. She says North Texas Workforce Solutions helped her afford childcare, which was pivotal to being able to go back to school.
Everitt will find out on Match Day, February 14, if she got into medical school.
