A Northern Essex Community College General Studies: Health Specialization student is among just four students from across the state honored at this year’s Massachusetts Educational Opportunity Association (MEOA) Scholarship Awards in New Bedford, MA.

Kristie Eaton, of Georgetown, is part of NECC’s Pathways to Academic & Career Excellence Program (PACE), a TRiO Student Support Services program that assists first-generation, low-income, or disabled students in graduating and transferring to four-year colleges. MEOA awards $1,000 scholarships annually to TRiO students who have demonstrated the ability to overcome significant obstacles and attain educational excellence.

With a perfect 4.0 GPA, Eaton has worked hard to attain that educational excellence. But up until a few years ago, she didn’t think college was in the cards. She became a mother soon after graduating high school, and in the next three years, got married and had another baby. She found a steady and reliable income bartending at a local, family-owned restaurant.

“I was super comfortable there, and I stayed for a long time,” Eaton recalls. “Going to college was in the back of my mind, but I just couldn’t rationalize putting myself into debt to make less money than I would make doing what I was doing.”

Eaton worked there for more than 20 years, weathering life changes like a divorce and remarriage, and the births of two more children, until the restaurant’s owner decided to retire and close the business.

“That made me realize I was really just ready to start something new and just do something for me, and something to better myself in my life.”

A chance reunion with an old friend helped solidify what that “something” would be.

“I happened to run into my friend, who moved back to Georgetown, where we grew up, and she is the one who told me about the MassReconnect Program.”

Her friend, Rebecca Beaucher, was one of the first students to enroll in NECC under the MassReconnect Program in the fall of 2023. The program allows Massachusetts adults over 25 who don’t already have a college degree to earn one tuition-free at the state’s community colleges. Eaton was sold, knowing she wouldn’t have to go into debt to attend college. She enrolled at NECC the following spring semester. She says it was daunting going back into “learning mode” at the age of 45, but her PACE advisors, professors, and fellow classmates quickly put her at ease.

“I felt like I was at the right place at the right time. Like, I was with my people. I was in the classroom, and nobody made me feel old or judged at all. I felt welcomed and encouraged just to do my best.”

Kristie Eaton earned her Sleep Technologist Certification in the spring of 2025

Eaton earned her certification as a Sleep Technologist in just a year and immediately found work as a pediatric sleep tech at Boston Children’s Hospital. She says the flexible schedule allows her to have time for her kids, who now range from age 11 to 29, and to continue to take classes to work toward her associate degree. She’s on track to earn her General Studies: Health Specialization degree at the end of next year, and she’s thinking ahead to transferring to a four-year school to pursue a bachelor’s degree.

Eaton says the MEOA scholarship is tremendously helpful in helping her get to her next goal. She is working with PACE staff to identify other opportunities as well. She’s also determined to pay it forward, ensuring that other people know it’s never too late to start something new.

“I have a friend, she’s been in the hospitality business forever, and it gets tough on the body when you get older. So I told her about NECC, and I keep telling her, ‘Apply, apply, apply.’ I really want to help how I was helped.”

To learn more about the PACE/TRiO Program at Northern Essex, visit the webpage or contact coordinator Kristen Arnold at karnold@necc.mass.edu.

MEOA is a 501(c)3 non-profit, tax-exempt organization made up of educators, policymakers, private sector professionals, and others committed to ensuring that secondary and post-secondary educational opportunities are appropriate and accessible to students from disadvantaged backgrounds.