A Mother's Influence is a Daughter's Inspiration
The Rent We Owed Was a Bachelor's Degree
Some of the most important educational policies in my life were never approved by a school board, adopted by a ministry, or published in a handbook.
They were established in our home by a resilient immigrant mother who believed that education was the one thing no one could ever take away from her children.
My mother viewed education as essential. Not optional.Not negotiable. Essential. As an immigrant, she understood something that I would only fully appreciate years later: education creates opportunity, independence, confidence, and choice. In our household, there was one rule. After high school, the rent we owed was for a bachelor's degree. Not money. Not utilities. Not household expenses—a bachelor's degree.
That was the expectation.
At the time, I accepted it as simply the way things were. Today, I recognize it as one of the greatest gifts my mother ever gave me. Ironically, my love affair with education began long before I understood any of that. On my very first day of school, I came home excitedly explaining to my parents what a desk was. I vividly remember describing it as though I had discovered something entirely new and revolutionary. In my young mind, I was convinced they had never encountered such a thing before.
My teacher, Ms. Valley, had introduced me to a world of possibilities. From that moment, I was captivated. I taught my dolls, my friends. I assigned lessons to anyone willing to listen.
When I encountered big words I could not quite pronounce or understand, I confidently created my own versions without hesitation. Somehow, both my older and younger friends remained convinced I knew exactly what I was talking about and willingly became my students. Even then, education felt like joy. It felt like curiosity. It felt like a purpose.
Yet another influential woman would shape the course of my life in ways she may never fully know. Her name was Ms. Mavis Forde.
In fourth grade, Ms. Forde made a decision that demonstrated a kind of leadership I would not fully appreciate until adulthood. Despite resistance from others, including concerns from school leadership and the board, she moved up with our class. She believed in us. She stood by her convictions. She demonstrated courage long before I understood the language of leadership. One day, after I placed third on an examination, she presented me with a book entitled The Horses of Follyfoot Farm. I still have that book today. Forty-two years later. What Ms. Forde could not have known was that she was giving me much more than a prize. She was helping shape a future educator.
That moment sealed something in my heart. I remember deciding that I wanted to become a teacher. I even practiced writing "Ms. Agard" in script, patterning the capital" M after the way Ms. Forde wrote her own name. Children learn from what adults model. Ms. Forde modeled courage. She modeled conviction. She modeled leadership.
Most importantly, she modeled what it means to stand firm in the service of others even when doing so is unpopular. Years later, when I found myself making decisions that did not align with expectations, I often think that example gave me the courage to trust my own path. That courage would soon be tested.
When I entered Medgar Evers College, I enrolled as a pre-med major. Like many immigrant parents, my mother dreamed big for her children. In her mind, I was going to become a doctor. What she did not know was that another calling had been quietly growing stronger for years. Education. The classroom. Teaching. Learning. Purpose. Eventually, I made a decision that terrified me. I changed my major from pre-med to education. And I did not tell my mother for years. It was not until my senior year that I finally shared the truth.
To say she was surprised would be an understatement. After all, she had sent me to college to become a doctor. Instead, I had chosen teaching.
Yet her response became one of the most important lessons of my life. Whenever I complained about difficult coursework, demanding professors, or the challenges of preparing to become an educator, she would remind me, "I sent you to college to be a doctor. You chose teaching. "But you may as well be the best teacher you can be. Your future is so bright, you will need sunglasses."
At the time, I laughed. Today, I understand. She was teaching me that listening to advice and honoring sacrifice does not mean abandoning your own calling. It means pursuing it with excellence. As life unfolded, I eventually found myself navigating many seasons without my mother's guiding hand. Yet I was blessed to encounter extraordinary women who continued to pour into my life. Women who challenged me. Women who encouraged me. Women who opened doors. Women who reminded me of what was possible. Dr. Charlotte Phoenix. Dr. Florence Tager. Dr. Mayers-Johnson. Dr. Umolu. Dr. Edna Hastick. Dr. Evelyn Castro. And most recently, Dr. Sharlene Quelch and Dr. Shunuski. Each contributed something invaluable to my growth as an educator, leader, scholar, and woman. Some offered wisdom. Some offered opportunities. Some offered encouragement during difficult seasons.
All offered examples of excellence. Together, they reinforced a truth I have come to cherish deeply: No one succeeds alone.
Behind every leader is someone who invested in them. Behind every change agent is someone who believed in their potential. Behind every influential woman is another influential woman, extending her hand and saying, "Keep going." Today, with more than three decades of experience in education and leadership spanning New York, Florida, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, I remain convinced that education changes lives. In many cases, education saves lives. Most importantly, it develops people capable of transforming the world around them. That is why I continue to believe that some of the most important work we do as educators is not simply teaching content.
It is developing future leaders.
Future innovators.
Future advocates.
Future problem-solvers.
Future change agents.
When I reflect upon my journey, I realize this story is not really about me. It is about a mother who believed education was worth demanding. It is about teachers who inspired curiosity. It is about mentors who nurtured growth. It is about influential women who modeled courage, excellence, and service. And it is about the responsibility we all share to invest in those who will come after us. The older I become, the more I appreciate that my mother's rule was never really about earning a degree. It was about becoming the person I was capable of becoming. For that lesson, I will always be grateful. Perhaps she was right. The future was bright after all. After we all paid our rent, earned our Bachelor's degrees, and more, Mom went back to school and earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in nursing. She spends her days serving her patients at King's County Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, every waking other moment in her garden, doting on her five grandchildren, and influencing another generation.
Dedicated to My Mother, Florence " Tammy" Agard
