Zona Edwards
First-generation student, mother of 5, goes back to school to become a teacher
Zona Edwards and her husband Willie both decided to return to school as adults, to support their family of seven.
Now they will both walk across the stage and receive their diplomas in Wagstaff Gymnasium on Saturday.
Zona will graduate on Dec. 16 with her Associate of Arts in English, and Willie will graduate with an Associate of Arts in history.
After moving to East Texas from Arizona and pursuing a career in cosmetology, Zona married Willie, and together they adopted five children.
“They are my nieces and nephews,” said Zona. “There are three girls and two boys. My oldest is 17 and our youngest is 8. We’ve had them for five years now.”
At the time of the adoption, her youngest was 2 years old, and having a career was not an option because daycare was expensive.
Once all her children started attending school, Zona got back into the mindset of wanting to go to college to pursue new opportunities.
“I started thinking about what kind of future I wanted for my kids, and I wanted to contribute to building that future,” she said.
She continued, “We started looking around, and TJC was the school that stuck out to my husband and me. It’s just been such an amazing school to be a part of.”
Zona admits that returning to school as an adult and a parent was a daunting thought. She was fully prepared to be the uninvolved student sitting in the back of the classroom.
“I thought I’d be in and out. Do what I’m supposed to do. Not really establishing relationships with other students. But that wasn’t the case at all,” she said. “I made friends in every single one of my classes. Each one of my professors was amazing, and anytime I had an issue or something came up with one of my kids, they were very understanding.”
Zone did not just attend classes at TJC, she thrived in college, becoming a part of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.
“I don’t feel like I was any different than the traditional college student,” she said. “College is what you make it. If you want to be that person who just sits in the back of the room, then you have to try to be the person who goes unnoticed at TJC. People will reach out to you, and they will get to know you on a completely different level than what you ever expect to happen.”
As a first-generation student, Zona hopes she and her husband are sending a strong message to their children that anything is possible if you work hard to achieve it.
“I did not get my family in the most traditional way,” she said. “It’s just a blessing because I’m showing my kids that it doesn’t matter where you come from, how you grew up, if you want something bad enough, you can do it.”
She plans to attend UT Tyler in January as a full-time student, majoring in English and minoring in education, and ultimately aspires to become a middle school teacher.
“I just fell in love with the concept of making a difference in a child’s life,” she said. “It brought me back to my childhood, and thinking of my kids, and how teachers are one of these most constant people in a child’s life and how influential they have the opportunity to be.”