{"id":27591,"date":"2019-12-18T19:36:07","date_gmt":"2019-12-19T00:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom2\/2019\/12\/19\/getting-on-track-marlene-grant-07\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T14:22:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T18:22:01","slug":"getting-on-track-marlene-grant-07","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2019\/12\/18\/getting-on-track-marlene-grant-07\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting on Track: Marlene Grant &#8217;07"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_21966\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/media-old\/2019\/12\/046_DSC_1840.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-21966\" class=\"wp-image-21966 size-medium\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/media-old\/2019\/12\/046_DSC_1840-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-21966\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marlene Grant &#8217;07 walks the NECC track.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>When Marlene Grant &#8217;07 moved from Boston to Haverhill at the age of 25, she had already experienced a life full of challenges: she was born and raised in an area plagued by gang violence, drive-by shootings and overwhelming negativity; and was pregnant with her first child at age 13. She dropped out of high school but subsequently earned her GED on the third try.<\/p>\n<p>In 2005, desperate for a change and a safe environment for her children, she moved to Haverhill. At the time, she had no money, no family with her other than her three children, no job, and a broken-down car.<\/p>\n<p>That is when she enrolled at NECC \u2013 and quickly found her footing in the college\u2019s social work program (now <a href=\"https:\/\/www.necc.mass.edu\/learn\/credit-programs\/human-services\/human-services-associate-degree\/\">human services)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was mesmerized by the beautiful campus, supported by the helpful staff, and inspired by my professors\u2026 They were the catalyst for my success,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>Grant emphasizes that one particular criminology professor, Mary Wilson-Tauson, was instrumental in giving her the boost she needed to succeed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProfessor Mary Wilson touched my life, allowing me to confront my history in a safe and affirming environment. She believed in me and my ability to confidently move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The pieces all continued to come together for her as she devoted a portion of each day to walking around the NECC track, where she would mentally refine her goals after class.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_21967\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/media-old\/2019\/12\/003_DSC_1680.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-21967\" class=\"wp-image-21967 size-medium\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/media-old\/2019\/12\/003_DSC_1680-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-21967\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marlene Grant (left) and Mary Wilson-Tauson (right) recently reunited, for the first time in 14 years, on the NECC Haverhill campus, where they shared their journeys with us. &#8220;No role has brought me more satisfaction than that of professor and nothing brings me more joy than hearing from former students,&#8221; says Wilson-Tauson.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cI can honestly say that every major decision I made at that point in my life was made on that track,\u201d she says. &#8220;The NECC campus truly gave me my voice, taught me to face adversity head on and embrace diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grant went on to earn an associate degree in liberal arts: social work option from NECC (2007) and two degrees from the University of Massachusetts Lowell \u2013 a bachelor\u2019s degree in liberal arts: psychology (2012) and a master\u2019s degree in regions of economic development and social development (2014). Now actively working toward a juris doctorate degree, she expects to graduate from Massachusetts School of Law in the spring of 2020.<\/p>\n<p>Grant currently serves as the Director of Operations at Companion Care Partners, LLC in Salem, NH, where she hires, trains, and manages caregivers for a wide range of clients.<\/p>\n<p>And her journey is far from finished. She remains deeply passionate about education and eventually hopes to start a mentoring program in business affairs for NECC students. The NECC legacy also continues: her oldest daughter, now a nursing student at Northeastern University, is a proud graduate of the college and her youngest son is enrolled as a student.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNECC is more than a community college to me,&#8221; she concludes. &#8220;It has made me who I am today\u2026It is part of my family. If you are looking for a new start, I know your future can begin here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>NECC offers an associate degree in human services, which prepares students for careers as social workers, counselors, and more. For additional information, please visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.necc.mass.edu\/\">www.necc.mass.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Marlene Grant &#8217;07 moved from Boston to Haverhill at the age of 25, she had already experienced a life full of challenges: she was born and raised in an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":27593,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Getting on Track: Marlene Grant &#039;07 - 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\/2019\/12\/18\/getting-on-track-marlene-grant-07\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Getting on Track: Marlene Grant &#039;07 - 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