Willa Mae Brown and April Lewis

WHEN WILLA MAE BROWN FIRST ENROLLED at college, it was 1975. She and her husband had recently moved their young family from New York to Atlanta where they leased a townhome off Candler Road. She took a full course load from DeKalb Community College, now Georgia State University’s Decatur Campus, hoping to graduate with an associate degree in early childhood education. She did well in the classroom.

“I always loved school,” Brown said.

Brown’s sister, April Lewis, enrolled the following year. But the experience wouldn’t last for either of them.

A single mother, Lewis had to interrupt her college studies continually, taking classes seldom and piecemeal to care for her three daughters.

And at just 3 years old, Brown’s son Frank was chronically ill, in and out of doctors’ offices and hospitals with persistent viruses and infections, and the family needed answers. To help pay mounting medical bills, the thriving college student dropped her classes and worked two jobs.

“No one knew what was wrong with him,” she said.

A few years later, Brown returned to school, but Frank’s health issues persisted. Then he slipped into a coma. The doctors diagnosed him with meningitis and told the family to prepare for the worst. Brown once more tabled her college dreams to be by her son’s side.

Frank later emerged from the coma in what Brown calls a miracle, and doctors diagnosed him with a manageable autoimmune condition. He and his family now live in Switzerland, where he is a pharmaceutical company executive.

With circumstances like these, it’s no wonder the two sisters had to fight to finish their degrees. Altogether, they have enrolled at or withdrawn from Perimeter College 14 times over 42 years. But on Dec. 12, they graduate.

Frank is making a special trip home to celebrate with his mom and aunt.

“This is one of their most significant achievements,” Frank said of the sisters’ journey to a college diploma.

Lewis was scheduled to graduate in May, but Brown convinced her to hold off until she finished her last class, a biology course, this fall, so they could graduate together.

Lewis’ tone grew serious when she talked about the people who, over the years, encouraged her to keep moving toward graduation. She singled out Ramon Selles, assistant registrar at the Decatur Campus, who helped her push through during her last two years as a Perimeter student.

“I try to connect with students, so they feel they have a resource,” Selles said.

Selles made sure Lewis was taking the correct courses and put her in touch with advisers to keep her on track. But even with his assurance, Lewis questioned whether she still had what it took to succeed in classes full of students young enough to be her grandchildren. The answer is obvious.

“April exemplifies one of the main qualities it takes to graduate from college — perseverance,” said Scott Pieper, a reference librarian who has known Lewis for four years from the long hours she spent studying in the library.

Although their journey has been long and challenging, Brown and Lewis say the reward is worth it.

“I always admired people with education,” Lewis said. “And, I said, ‘One day, I want to have a degree of my own.’”

“When you have dreams, you can keep going,” Brown said.

Written by Kysa Anderson Daniels
Photo by Bill Roa