GRAD OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO MAKE IT TO CONVOCATION
Mature student and single mom inspired by mom, grandmother in making Dean’s List
Her grandmother is a leader in the field of child and youth care, recently retired from Mount Royal University after a distinguished 45-year teaching career, while her mom graduated from the school 21 years ago.
It’s not surprising, then, to hear that when 30-year-old Robyn Bell walks across the stage Thursday to receive her business degree from Mount Royal University, she’ll do so as a top achiever on the Dean’s List.
“I’m a pretty determined person,” says Bell as we chat in her southwest home on Wednesday, an hour before she heads to MRU to try on her graduation gown. “My mom and grandmother really pushed me, in a positive way, to reach my potential.”
She will join more than 1,500 of her fellow MRU grads as they begin two days of spring convocation from several faculties. Her faculty, the Bissett School of Business, will commence handing out degrees Thursday afternoon.
Bell’s own journey from student to successful graduate belies the surface appearance of yet another successful young grad following in the footsteps of family members.
When Bell graduated from high school, a post-secondary education was the furthest thing from her mind. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life,” she says, adding: “I didn’t belief in myself.”
While she doesn’t blame anyone else for her lack of selfesteem, Bell’s turbulent teenage years were at least part of the reason. Her mother, Sheri, “a fantastic mom when I was little,” struggled with alcoholism.
“She’d promise to do all these things, then the demons would come out when she drank,” says Bell of her mother, one of Marlene Kingsmith’s foster children who came to her as a lovable but troubled teenager.
Throughout her 20s, Bell worked as a bar waitress like her mom had, a job that paid well in tips but served as a constant reminder of the devastating effects of alcohol abuse.
“I’d be angry a lot of the time,” she says, adding that while she’ll enjoy a glass of wine with a meal, has never been one to drink to excess. “It was hard to be around that, but I didn’t know what else I could do.”
Finding out she was pregnant at 24 jostled her out of her complacency, even though the birth of her son Aiden would bring more financial and other challenges.
“I suddenly saw I could do so much more than I ever imagined,” she says of being a single parent. “Having my child gave me the boost of confidence I needed.”
Still, there were more obstacles to come. Not long into her fouryear program, Bell’s mother became sick from an alcoholism-related illness; in between caring for her mother and child, she still managed to keep her grades up.
“It was pretty devastating,” says Bell, whose mother died two years ago this past Saturday, at the age of 53. “My whole life was school, taking care of my family and working part time.”
Still, she never resented her life when compared to the lion’s share of her classmates, who were out having fun on the weekends. “I was a mature student, so I had a different outlook,” she says. “I was there for one thing, to get an education.”
Bell, who recently started her own personal in-home cooking instruction business called Real Simple Delicious, says she couldn’t have gone the educational distance without the help of loved ones, including her boyfriend, Brendan Wong, and his family.
Her advice for other students facing obstacles to success? “You’re stronger than you think,” she says. “Believe in yourself.”
For one woman who always believed in Bell, she couldn’t be prouder.
“Robyn is very determined to have a life that is healthy and positive,” says Kingsmith, who’ll be there with other family members to cheer on Bell at convocation.
“She’s been through some difficult times, but she is one strong young lady.”
My mom and grandmother really pushed me, in a positive way, to reach my potential.