Dual diplomas a family affair
Road back to school for mother and son was years in the making
When Davetta Simmons was experiencing a password issue before an online exam, she enlisted the help of her son.
Cracking the code was no challenge for Jason Gibson, who is pursuing a degree in cybersecurity.
The two will collect their diplomas together from SUNY Schenectady on Friday: Simmons with a degree in nutrition, and Gibson with a degree in computer networking systems and cybersecurity.
“We really pushed each other to finish,” Gibson said.
Both will graduate from their degree programs after heading back to school following years in the workforce. They share a home in Schenectady.
Simmons sailed through nine exams alone this week because she’s also taking LPN (licensed practical nurse) courses at Capital Region BOCES, from which
she will graduate next month.
“I’ve cried, struggled and prayed about all these classes,” Simmons said.
The path back to academia for
the Air Force veteran was difficult, from securing financing to tackling the heavy coursework.
With a 10-course workload, a typical day saw Simmons, 58,
study and attend courses from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
After an hour break, she studied until midnight.
“And then I lay down and got ready for the next day,” Simmons said.
At times, she was overwhelmed. Eating several small meals per day kept her energy levels up. Meditation and yoga helped with the stress. She got support from Gibson and other family members who assisted with household tasks.
The duo saw each other on the college’s downtown campus and lifted each other up when the work seemed overwhelming.
Simmons wears a bracelet that her son gave her: “You got this,” reads the inscription.
“I helped keep her on track and she did the same for me,” Gibson said. “We really pushed each other to finish.”
Simmons joined the Air Force after graduating from Albany High School in 1981. Life happened, including a series of jobs and raising two children. She moved back to the Capital Region in 2018 to be closer to her aging mother.
“Life got in the way,” Simmons said. “Now that we’re settled, it was time to accomplish our dreams.”
Her goal is to be a registered nurse with a focus on helping veterans — ideally with a job at Albany Stratton VA Medical Center. (And later, she wants to relocate to be closer to her daughter, Zanetta Gibson-foster, a nurse currently living in Japan.)
Next stop: Completing her studies at Hudson Valley Community College.
None of her success would have been possible without her mentors, instructors and classmates at each school, she said.
Gibson, 36, also spent years in the workforce before moving from Florida to Schenectady to pursue a degree.
Cybersecurity — including tracking down hackers who carry out ransomware attacks — is a lucrative field, he said.
“And the reward of fixing and repairing computers and working on security networks is satisfying,” he said.
His final career goal is to land a job preventing attacks on computer network systems.
Gibson has already landed a job at SUNY Schenectady after he graduates, which he’ll augment by taking classes at the College of Saint Rose in Albany this fall. He’s also got a full summer course load planned.
For inspiration, Gibson turned to one of his favorite lyrics from the classic Bill Withers and Grover Washington Jr. song “Just the Two of Us.”
“Good things might come to those who wait,” he said, “not for those who wait too late.”