{"id":23457,"date":"2022-04-19T14:51:12","date_gmt":"2022-04-19T18:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom2\/2022\/04\/19\/business-transfer-grad-headed-for-umass\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T15:31:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T19:31:55","slug":"business-transfer-grad-headed-for-umass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/04\/19\/business-transfer-grad-headed-for-umass\/","title":{"rendered":"Business Transfer Grad Headed for UMass"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Kimberly Justo ’22, Business Transfer<\/p><\/div>\n

When Kimberly Justo graduated from Lawrence High School in 2020, she was thrilled to receive many college acceptances\u2014including an offer from her \u201cdream school\u201d Bryant University in Rhode Island\u2014along with strong financial aid packages.<\/p>\n

Still, she soon realized that she would be taking on substantial debt, and, as a practical person, paying for college herself, she knew she didn\u2019t want to do that.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why she decided to enroll at Northern Essex Community College for two years and earn her Business Transfer associate\u2019s degree<\/a>, before transferring to a four-year institution.<\/p>\n

Sweetening the deal for her was the Lawrence Promise Program, which offers a free associate degree, covering tuition fees, a laptop, and textbooks, to graduating high school students who were enrolled in the Early College Program, taking Northern Essex classes while in high school.<\/p>\n

Justo will graduate debt-free from Northern Essex in May with a 3.97 GPA (straight A\u2019s plus one A-) and plans to transfer to UMass Amherst. Based on her stellar academic record, she has received significant scholarship packages from both schools.<\/p>\n

Just 20 years old, Justo arrived in Lawrence from the Dominican Republic four years ago, speaking no English. Determined to learn the language, she taught herself in two months, primarily by watching television.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s soft-spoken, calm, and focused on her education and her future career. \u201cI try to think about why I\u2019m like this. I don\u2019t like to fail. I like the way it feels when I\u2019m doing my best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Justo also isn\u2019t afraid to reach out for help, relying on many of the college\u2019s resources including the academic and transfer advising offered through the PACE Program<\/a>; the tutoring center<\/a>, which she \u201calways uses\u201d; counseling services<\/a>; and the college food pantry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When she was looking for a summer job in the accounting field, she reached out to Career Services<\/a> and, with their help, wrote an \u201cawesome\u201d resume and cover letter, which has already resulted in interview appointments.<\/p>\n

For Justo, Northern Essex is the first step in her educational journey. After earning her bachelor\u2019s degree in accounting, she wants to continue on, with CPA certification and graduate degrees in her field.<\/p>\n

She says many of her friends didn\u2019t attend college after high school, and she\u2019s determined to change that. Thanks to her encouragement, two of her closest friends enrolled at Northern Essex this past semester, including one who is on track for a nursing degree.<\/p>\n

As a high school senior, it was difficult to let go of the idea of her \u201cdream college\u201d, says Justo, but now, close to earning her associate degree, she wouldn\u2019t change her decision. \u201cI was kind of scared when I was starting college, but Northern Essex has resources that have helped me a lot. I feel ready to succeed at the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more about the May 14 Commencement, visit the website.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kimberly Justo was accepted to her “dream college” when she graduated from Lawrence HS in 2020, but she chose to start at NECC based on its affordability. Now preparing to graduate with plans to transfer, she’s thrilled she got her start at NECC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":25276,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[9,11,18,19,20],"tags":[203,55,101,105],"class_list":["post-23457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-community","category-spotlight","category-stories","category-students","tag-dominican-diaspora","tag-alumni","tag-business","tag-business-transfer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBusiness Transfer Grad Headed for UMass - NECC News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/04\/19\/business-transfer-grad-headed-for-umass\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Business Transfer Grad Headed for UMass - NECC News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kimberly Justo was accepted to her "dream college" when she graduated from Lawrence HS in 2020, but she chose to start at NECC based on its affordability. 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