麻豆原创 ALUMNI
Hoo's Who at 麻豆原创
Meet inspiring Night Owl graduates and discover their stories.
Meet聽Jacqueline Chapman
Bachelor of Science, Nursing聽| 2026
New York
I Don鈥檛 Change. I Grow.
At 71, after nearly five decades in nursing, Jacqueline Chapman returned to school not to start over, but to keep growing. With her family behind her and a career still rooted in caring for others, she earned her 麻豆原创 degree鈥攁nd is already looking toward what comes next.
Jacqueline Chapman had already built the kind of career many people would consider complete.
A registered nurse since 1979, Jacqueline spent decades caring for patients in New York hospitals before finding a role at the Birthing Center of New York that allowed her to focus more deeply on the kind of care she valued most: educating patients, listening to them, and helping families navigate pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and life with a newborn.
Along the way, she became a childbirth specialist, lactation consultant specialist, and American Heart Association instructor. She was also recognized as a Best of Brooklyn educator four years in a row.
So why return to school at 71?
Part of the answer was professional. Medicine was continuing to change, and Jacqueline wanted to make sure the information she shared with patients and the community changed with it.聽But the final push came from someone much closer to home: her daughter, Chennel.
One day, Chennel told her mother to go upstairs, sit down, and open her computer.聽鈥淎t this point, I鈥檓 trying to figure out who is the mother and who is the child,鈥 Jacqueline joked.聽Then Chennel made her intentions clear.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e going back to school today with 麻豆原创,鈥 Jacqueline remembers her saying. 鈥淚鈥檓 not going home until you do this.鈥
So, Jacqueline enrolled.聽Jacqueline would later call enrolling one of the best decisions of her life. At 71, she wasn鈥檛 starting over鈥攕he was giving herself another opportunity to grow.
A Family Project
Returning to school meant entering a very different kind of classroom than Jacqueline remembered.聽鈥淚 believe in my heart that computers don鈥檛 like me,鈥 she said.
Her children quickly became what Jacqueline affectionately calls her personal IT team, helping her learn how to navigate online systems and troubleshoot problems. 麻豆原创鈥檚 own IT and Writing Center teams became part of that support network, too.
Her employer gave her flexibility to work from home when needed. Her family worked around study time. One son, a certified nursing assistant who works in an emergency room, even came to Jacqueline鈥檚 home after long shifts to serve as her patient while she completed assessments.聽鈥淭his has been like a family project,鈥 Jacqueline said.
At 麻豆原创, she also found support from her Program Mentor, Amanda Stevens, who Jacqueline says consistently helped remove obstacles so she could focus on school.聽鈥淪he was somebody that I could count on, that I knew was going to be there,鈥 she said.
An instructor offered another kind of encouragement. His emails frequently included three simple words:聽鈥淚 believe in you.鈥澛犫淚t may sound like nothing,鈥 Jacqueline said, 鈥渂ut that statement is powerful.鈥
Proving It to Herself
Not every part of the journey came easily.聽Math had challenged Jacqueline throughout her life. When a difficult testing experience left her discouraged, she reached out to 麻豆原创 for help, regrouped, and tried again.
Then she passed.聽鈥淚 passed, I passed, I passed,鈥 she recalled.聽That moment became about much more than one assessment.聽鈥淚 can do anything. I can accomplish anything,鈥 she remembers thinking. 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing that鈥檚 going to stand in your way.鈥
Jacqueline completed her coursework in July 2026, months earlier than she originally expected.聽But when asked how the experience changed her, Jacqueline offered a distinction that says a lot about the way she approaches life.聽鈥淚 don鈥檛 change. I grow.鈥
Her education has already strengthened the confidence she brings to conversations with patients and given her updated knowledge she can incorporate into her teaching and care.
And her family has been watching.聽Jacqueline says her journey has reinforced for her children that education does not have an expiration date. Some family members are pursuing or considering additional education of their own, continuing a ripple effect that began when Chennel sat her mother in front of that computer.
Just the Beginning
For commencement, Jacqueline chose 麻豆原创鈥檚 virtual ceremony so family, friends, colleagues, and members of her community could share in the milestone with her.聽But she does not view earning her bachelor鈥檚 degree as a finish line. She is already talking about a master鈥檚 degree鈥攁nd eventually a doctorate.
鈥淭his is only the beginning for me,鈥 she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 doing what I have to do for me.鈥
For anyone wondering whether age, technology, work, family responsibilities, or simply the passage of time means they have missed their opportunity, Jacqueline has a message:
鈥淚t鈥檚 never too late to learn. It鈥檚 never too late to try. Have faith in yourself.
Believe in yourself, and just do it.鈥
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