Susie Green Scholarship for Women Pursuing Education

At 45 years old, pursuing a Master of Legal Studies at Wake Forest University while working full-time and raising three teenagers, people often ask what gave me the courage to go back to school. The honest answer is my grandmother, and a promise I made to myself that I wouldn't repeat her regrets. My grandmother lived to 97 after surviving imprisonment in Russia for being too poor to afford shoes, enduring decades of an abusive marriage, and accepting injustice because she felt she had no other choice. In her final years, she would tell me with deep regret, "I stayed when I should have left. I was afraid when I should have been brave." The truth is, in 1940s Russia, she didn't have many options. The legal protections and opportunities that exist for women in America today simply weren't available to her. But I do have those options, and her story reminds me not to waste them. Those words haunted me. I promised myself that when my moment came to be brave, I wouldn't let fear win. My own experiences with vulnerability reinforced why this education matters. Thirty-two years ago, I arrived in America as a 13-year-old Russian-Jewish refugee who couldn't speak English. I remember the constant fear of my parents signing documents they couldn't read, the deep embarrassment of asking for translation help, and the persistent worry that they might be agreeing to something harmful. I struggled immensely in high school and barely graduated, not because I lacked intelligence, but because I was drowning in the challenge of rebuilding my identity in a foreign country. It wasn't until college that I finally found my footing. Years later, life tested me again. When I was eight months pregnant with my youngest child, my ex-husband walked out, leaving me a single mother of two with no recent work experience. I had to rebuild everything while caring for a newborn and toddler. I earned my ACAMS certification by studying during naptime with flashcards in the diaper bag. I worked my way from paralegal positions to my current role as Sr Compliance Consultant at MetLife. Each step required courage I didn't always feel, but I kept moving forward anyway. When I considered going back to school at 45, every practical voice in my head said it was too late. I'm supporting a family of five, with a child in college and two approaching college age. The financial burden is real. I'd have to study after my kids go to bed, write papers between work meetings, and sacrifice sleep to keep everything moving. But every time I questioned whether I was too old for this, I heard my grandmother's voice wishing she had been braver. I thought of myself at thirteen, vulnerable and confused, and I knew that fear was not a good enough reason to stay where I was. The courage to go back to school came from understanding that my adversities aren't just my history; they're my qualifications. The challenges I've overcome give me a perspective that traditional students don't have. I understand why legal knowledge matters because I've lived the consequences of not having it. My grandmother never had the opportunity to pursue an education that could have changed her life. I do have that opportunity, and I refuse to let it pass me by. I'm not pursuing legal education despite my challenges. I'm pursuing it because of them, and because my grandmother taught me, through her regrets, that being brave is always worth it.